A Journey of Souls
by El Toro
Summary: Pokeshipping. Taking place after the Hoenn League, Ash and Misty embark on a new adventure in where they'll not only discover new characters and pokemon, but also reawaken old feelings.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – A Blazing Finale**

"Welcome everyone, to the Ivory Islands Finals!" the announcer yelled. The audience began to scream and jump. The sky was a light blue and the sun shone from above the Rock field without a cloud in the sky to disturb it.

"We have on one side the trainer from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum!" said the announcer pointing to his left. Ash smiled as he was greeted by the shouts of thousands in the crowd as he waved back.

He was 16 years old and he had come back from taking a break after placing in the Top 8 in the Hoenn league to participate in the Ivory Islands League. The Ivory Islands were a collection of islands to the west of Kanto's Indigo Plateau and he decided to travel alone to get any distractions out of the way and focus on winning the league.

"And to the left, we have Derek Azrein from Goldenrod City!" the announcer yelled as he pointed to the boy to his right. He had dark black wavy hair that reached his shoulder and dark red eyes that gave him an intimidating look. He smiled and waved nonchalantly to the crowd as they cheered him on.

"Let's get this match rolling!" the announcer said; fireworks were shot into the sky and the crowd went wild.

Back in Cerulean City Gym, Misty was looking at the TV, excited from the fact that Ash had made it this far in the league. She just wished that she could be there by his side to cheer him on, but unfortunately, she had to take care of the Gym…

Twenty minutes had passed and Ash and Derek were down to there last pokemon, resulting from a double knockout between Ash's Donphan and Derek's Scizor. Ash looked nervously at Pikachu and Pikachu at him. Ash nodded and Pikachu jumped towards the arena.

"Alright then, go Blaziken!" Derek said as he called out his pokemon from the pokeball. The pokemon yelled his name, pumped his arms in the air and gazed ferociously at Pikachu.

"_This is gonna be a tough match,_" Ash thought nervously, looking at how Blaziken's feathers shone in the sun and at his terrific physique. The referee looked at both sides and then said, "BEGIN!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out. Pikachu charged up and shot out a lightning bolt straight at Blaziken.

"Blaziken, dodge!" cried out Derek. Pikachu's Thunderbolt hit the ground as Blaziken swiftly dodged it.

"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" said Derek. As Blaziken ran along the side of the field, he shot out a stream of fire at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Agility to dodge it!" yelled Ash. Pikachu disappeared and dodged the flames as he swiftly moved across the field.

"Alright, now use Iron Tail!" Pikachu appeared in front of Blaziken and jumped up as he charged to hit him.

"Blaziken, Counter!" Blaziken held up his arms in front of him as he withstood the blow. Then, with his left arm, he hit Pikachu, knocking him back across to the other side of the field. Pikachu stood up, dirty from the impact, but ready for more.

"Alright Pikachu, use Agility into a Volt Tackle!" Pikachu disappeared and reappeared in various parts of the field as he inched closer to Blaziken. Blaziken turned in circles to try and find Pikachu, but before he could finally lock on to him, Pikachu reappeared behind him and struck him in the back. Blaziken fell forwards onto his face in pain.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu charged up and managed to hit Blaziken with a powerful Thunderbolt, knocking Blaziken back five feet as he tried to stand up.

"Blaziken, get back up and jump to get behind Pikachu!" cried out Derek. Blaziken stood back up and jumped high into the air and began to descend behind Pikachu.

"Hit him with your Iron Tail before he hits the ground, Pikachu!" Ash yelled out. Pikachu jumped towards Blaziken and his tail began to glow white. Right before the Iron Tail hit Blaziken Derek called out, "Use Mega Kick!" and the attacks collided, sending them both backwards. Pikachu crashed into a boulder that was lying in the field and stood up, shakily, trying to recover. His tail was slightly bent down in an unnatural position and Pikachu was wincing in pain from it as he stood up straight.

Ash looked at Pikachu with fright from his injury then at Blaziken. He was breathing heavily and was holding onto his left knee while kneeling on his right leg. Ash thought out his strategy before he decided to launch his attack: he was going to attack him at close range since Pikachu had the speed advantage.

"Get up close to Blaziken and use Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled out to Pikachu, trying to prevent Derek to get a chance to recover from the attack. Pikachu began to speed up as he ran towards Blaziken who still hadn't moved a muscle since the collision. Electricity began to flow outside of Pikachu's body as he approached closer to Blaziken. Derek looked at Pikachu carefully as if he were trying to predict what would happen in a moment. Derek's eyes widened as Pikachu jumped at Blaziken and he yelled out,

"Duck now!" Blaziken ducked at the exact moment Pikachu had jumped at him and he avoided the attack. Pikachu tried to land on his four legs, but because of the high speed he was running at, Pikachu rolled over on the ground and screamed out in pain.

"Pikachu!" Ash's eyes widened out in fear as he called out his pokemon's name. Pikachu, upon hearing his master's cry, tried his best to stand up and managed to on his hind legs, but very slowly. Pikachu was breathing heavily and his legs were shaking, but he looked at Ash trying to persuade him into ordering another attack. Ash was in shock and looked reluctantly at Pikachu, but Pikachu continued to stare at him so Ash yelled out,

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Blaziken!" As Pikachu began to charge up his attack, Derek said,

"Turn around Blaziken and use Flamethrower!" Pikachu shot out his attack, but the attack met with Blaziken's Flamethrower and they both negated each other out.

He was running out of ideas… He had one last attack, but it was way too risky, especially with Pikachu's tail in the condition it was in… Ash looked down at the ground then at Pikachu. Pikachu was calling to Ash and it seemed like he was trying to tell Ash he could withstand anything. Ash looked away and reluctantly ordered him to:

"Use Agility into an Iron Tail…" Pikachu disappeared and began to run towards Blaziken at blinding speed. Derek then began to worry because he didn't know how much Blaziken could withstand as he was still resting on his knee.

Suddenly, Pikachu appeared in front of Blaziken and smashed the top of his head with an Iron Tail. Blaziken cried out in pain, but he held himself up from falling face forward onto the ground by extending his arms out in front of him. Pikachu, though, was lying on the ground, nearly crying from the excruciating pain he was in. Ash looked in horror at what he had done and was too paralyzed from the shock to do anything.

Derek looked at Blaziken; a red aura was surrounding him and Blaziken looked towards the sky and cried out triumphantly as he felt the power coursing through his body. His Blaze ability had kicked into effect and, even though he could not use his left knee, Blaziken was standing upright on his right leg with a look of determination on his face.

Derek then looked at Pikachu to see whether or not he would continue to fight. As he did so, Pikachu began to quiver then began to stand up. Derek was amazed at his ability to continue and admired Pikachu for putting up such a fight, but he knew he had to finish the match.

"Blaziken, pick up Pikachu and throw him into the air." Derek ordered calmly. Blaziken wrapped his hand around Pikachu's body and threw him into the sky.

"Now jump and use Mega Kick!" Derek screamed as he pointed towards Pikachu. Ash was still paralyzed from shock and continued to stand there, doing nothing, as Blaziken used his right leg to jump into the air until he was at the same level with Pikachu. He prepared his right leg for the attack. Then Blaziken lashed out and his leg connected with Pikachu's body with tremendous force. Pikachu was sent to the ground at blinding speed.

Derek looked at the field as Pikachu crashed into it then to his Blaziken who was in mid-air, at the audience who held their hands in front of their faces to hide their shock as the stadium was wrapped in complete silence, and at Ash who still had not seemed to return to the match. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said,

"Let's finish this match Blaziken and use Flamethrower on Pikachu." As Blaziken began his descent, he shot off a thick stream of red-hot flames towards the center of the gaping hole in the field. The crater erupted with flames and dust scattered everywhere. Blaziken landed on the field and stood upright on one leg as the dust began to settle. The referee looked inside the crater and declared,

"Pikachu is unable to battle. The winner of this match and championship title of the Ivory Islands League goes to Derek Azrein from Goldenrod City!"

The audience erupted into cheers and Ash had now returned back to the match. He looked around bewildered and everything hit him all at once. He ran over to the crater quickly and looked into it. Pikachu was lying inside, badly charred and in severe pain. He didn't even have the energy to open his eyes, let alone call out his name. Ash began to cry silently and reached out to grab Pikachu. He picked him up and brought him to the Pokemon Center, ignoring all the reporters that rushed towards him.

As Misty saw this scene play out on the TV, her heart sank for Ash. She could tell he was in a lot of emotional pain and decided that she would call him later on in the night to comfort him.

Hours after the match had been over, the emergency light turned off, signaling that Pikachu's treatment was over. Ash went over to Nurse Joy with a worried expression on his face.

"Is Pikachu gonna be all right?" Nurse Joy turned to look at him and smiled.

"Don't worry, he's suffered through the worst. Pikachu just needs a little bit of rest, but I'm positive in the morning he'll be all fine."

Ash was relieved at hearing Nurse Joy's soothing words. He thanked her then took a quick look inside the emergency room. Inside it, Pikachu was resting peacefully on the bed with cables connected to his cheeks, head, and body. Ash felt guilty about putting Pikachu through such an ordeal, but he was too tired to stay any longer, so he thanked Nurse Joy again, and went to his room in the Pokemon Center, while thinking about today's match.

Ash opened the door; the room was completely dark with the exception of the white light from the moon that entered through the sole window. Ash closed the door and didn't bother to turn on the lights as he went straight to his bed. He removed his shoes and was about to lie down on top of the bed when the videophone began to ring. Ash looked at the clock on the bedside table and it read: 10:10 PM.

"_Wonder who would be calling at this time_?" Ash wondered as he picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ash! How are you doing?" A male with spiky brown hair and squinty eyes appeared on the screen.

"Oh hey Brock, I'm just fine, how about you?" Ash said, wiping his eyes. After talking with Brock for about five minutes, Ash hung up the phone and turned to his bed when it began to ring again. This time it was May, who then passed it to Max. Soon after he hung up again, Ash's mother called, then she passed it to Professor Oak, who passed it to Tracey, who passed it to Gary. After hanging up the phone for the third time, he looked at the time. It was now 10:50 PM and he yawned and lay down on top of his bed.

Ash had closed his eyes when, once again, the phone began to ring. This time, Ash wasn't going to answer it so he covered his head with his pillow and waited for the ringing to stop. The phone stopped ringing, but then it began to ring again. This time, Ash lifted his head sleepily and looked at the phone. It stopped ringing and Ash began to lower his head when it began to ring again. Now Ash was mad and he went to the phone, picked it up, and grunted into the phone:

"Hello?" He looked at the screen with bags underneath his eyes when a girl with red-orange hair and blue-green eyes was looking at him, kind of surprised.

"I'm sorry Ash, did I wake you up? I can call tomorrow if you want…" said Misty. Ash's eyes widened and he began to speak into it when he nervously dropped the phone. He went to pick it up off the ground, but when he did this, he bumped his head on the table.

"No, that's alright Misty, I, uh, didn't expect anyone to call this late…" he said, clearly embarrassed as he rubbed his head. She grinned and said to him,

"Well I just wanted to see how you were doing, but it seems like you're already falling to pieces on me." Ash grinned at her and responded sarcastically,

"Well I'm feeling fine, thank you very much. I'm just a bit tired from today's match." Misty smiled at him as she looked at his disheveled hair and boyish grin.

"You haven't changed a bit since we last met, huh, Ash?" Misty said reminiscing on the time when she had gone to his house after he came back from the Hoenn league. She had surprised him there and stayed at his house for about a week before she had to go back to the Cerulean Gym.

"Well it was only 5 months ago…"

"Yeah I suppose… Anyway, what are you doing tomorrow Ash?"

"Well I was planning to return back home by taking a boat to Vermillion City, then going by foot to Pallet Town, why?" He asked her.

"Because we're throwing a party in the Cerulean Gym, congratulating you on your performance in the league tomorrow," Misty said with a grin. Ash looked at her with a confused expression.

"Don't you think this is a bit on short notice," Ash said. "I mean, I'll be arriving in Vermillion at 3 o'clock if I take the 10 o'clock boat out of here and by the time I make it to Cerulean, it'll be at least 9 o'clock and by then it'll be-"

"Not if you take the boat that leaves the port at 6 in the morning," Misty interjected.

"Huh?"

"Well, I looked up the boat schedules for you and there's a boat that leaves at 6 AM. That boat should arrive in Vermillion Port around 11 o'clock. I'm sure you'll be able to get here by six," explained Misty with a smile. Ash just looked at her in shock. She must have gone through a great deal of planning for this party if she wanted him to be there by the next day. Ash sighed and said,

"Alright fine, but only because it's obvious you went through a great deal of trouble for this party."

"All right!" Misty yelled. "So once you get here, I'll have your tuxedo ready and-"

"MISTY! STOP TALKING TO YOUR BOYFRIEND FOR, LIKE, A SECOND AND HELP US OUT UP HERE! THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THE PIPES AND WE NEED YOU UP HERE, RIGHT NOW!" screamed a female voice that sounded a lot like Daisy. Misty's face turned red and she said,

"Hold on for a second Ash while I talk to my sister…" She turned off the screen and set the phone down on top of the table, but Ash could still hear what was going on. Misty went towards the door, opened it and yelled up the stairs,

"DO YOU MIND? FIRST OF ALL, IT'S RUDE TO INTERUPT A CONVERSATION AND SECOND OF ALL, _HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND_!" Misty slammed the door, but she could still hear Daisy screaming back at her. Misty ignored it and turned the screen back on, but before she was going to start their conversation again, Daisy burst through the door, furious and screamed,

"WELL I GUESS IF YOU'RE WILLING TO PAY FOR A PARTY AND A BRAND NEW SUIT JUST FOR YOUR LITTLE BOYFRIEND THERE, THEN I GUESS YOU WON'T MIND PAYING THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THE REPAIR OF THE GYM ONCE IT'S FLOODED FROM THE LEAKING PIPES!" This time Daisy slammed the door so hard that it caused the camera on the videophone to shake. Ash looked back at Misty and her face was bright red like a ripe tomato.

"I think I'm going to have to call you back tomorrow, Ash. Goodnight." She hung up the phone quickly and the screen went black. Ash was bewildered at the whole scene, but he looked back at the clock and it read: 11:05 PM. He was tired and decided he better get some sleep for the long day that awaited him tomorrow. He crawled back into his bed and fell asleep thinking about Misty…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-The Welcoming Party**

_Ash was in a dark black forest, surrounded by a thick fog that didn't let him see anything, but a faint light in the distance. His senses seemed dulled and all he could feel was a gentle breeze hitting his face from where he was walking towards. He looked ahead as a bright light began to emit from the end of the forest and as Ash walked forward, it felt as if the wind had changed directions and was now carrying him there. The light grew as he drew closer to it and it began to blind him as it was too bright. He shielded his eyes and he began to scream as the wind strengthened and forcefully threw him into a clear opening onto the ground. In this part of the forest, the fog and light were gone and the trees around him covered the sky above, shaping the opening into a circle. Ash looked up and right before him was Misty, with tears in her eyes and her hand over her heart, avoiding his gaze. He stood up and took her hand and it seemed to him that he had asked her what was wrong. The fog began to draw back in and it covered the entire opening in a white blanket as she said something in a very quiet tone that he could not understand. He opened his mouth to tell her to repeat it again, but out of his mouth a_ beep _sounded. Ash looked around confused when he heard another _beep.

Ash opened his eyes suddenly to find himself drenched in sweat and his alarm clock beeping. It was 4:30 AM and he had to get ready for the boat trip. Ash slowly got out of bed, took a 20 minute shower, had a quick breakfast, and left with his backpack, closing the door to his room. He stopped by the front lobby of the Pokemon Center to where Pikachu was resting. There Nurse Joy brought out his Pikachu who was ecstatic to see his trainer. Pikachu jumped happily into Ash's arms and Pikachu smiled as he greeted him.

He thanked Nurse Joy for taking such good care of him, left the keys to his room on top of the table, and walked outside the door. Ash took a look around as he walked out of the Pokemon Center. The sun had still not risen yet so the sky was a navy blue without a single cloud in the sky. It promised to be a good day and Ash breathed in deeply before he began to walk towards the port where his boat was waiting for him.

"_It's 6:30 so Ash should be on the boat by now,_ if _he didn't get lost_," Misty thought to herself as she was gazing at the horizon where the sun had just risen from. She continued to think about him as she walked back inside the Gym to see how the problem from last night had settled.

Misty opened the door to the room underneath the pool that acted as a sort of changing room for the shows that they held there. There were puddles of water on the floor all around the grey empty room. Last night, a nut had loosened from the pipes and water began to leak from underneath the pool, soaking all of the clothes that were inside the room. So last night her sisters were moving everything outside of the room as fast they could, which was why Daisy was so urgent in getting Misty's help.

"_She was definitely overreacting, though,_" Misty thought with a grin, remembering Daisy's red face as she was screaming back at Misty last night. Misty knew that she would have to move the party out of the Gym because she was having a couple of repairmen drop by to fix the pipes. Misty wondered how Ash would figure that out though…

It was now 10:50 AM and Ash was sleeping on the deck of the boat on a sunbathing chair. The boat had begun to slow down as it reached the dock to park and Pikachu sensed this so he went to wake Ash up.

He nudged Ash's shoulder lightly. He opened his eyes drowsily and looked at Pikachu. Just then the boat horn sounded making Ash jump out of his chair.

"We have arrived in Vermillion City. Thank you for riding Ivory Islands Cruises and we hope you have a wonderful stay in Kanto." the loudspeaker announced as Ash picked himself up off the ground. Ash and Pikachu got off the boat and he looked for the nearest restaurant to get something eat.

Meanwhile, Misty was getting her dress fitted to her specific measurements in a tailor's shop in Cerulean City with her sisters.

"_It's 3 o'clock so Ash should be on his way_," Misty thought nervously as the tailor began to sew the bottom of her dress. Misty sighed as she began to think about how many things could possibly go wrong.

"_Knowing Ash's sense of direction, I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the bottom of an ocean right now_," Misty thought nervously. An image of Ash walking with a map in front of his face appeared in Misty's head as he plummeted off a cliff into the rocky ocean below. Misty shook her head of the horrible image. "_Why do I worry so much about him_?" Misty thought as she began to tap her foot.

"OW!" Misty said as the tailor had accidentally jabbed her with the pin. "You should be more careful! I thought you said you were a professional!"

"Well if you stopped moving your leg than that wouldn't have happened. So STAY STILL!" the tailor snapped back at her.

"Hmph!" Misty scoffed as she looked away from him. Then she began to worry again. "_Where are you, Ash_?"

Ash looked up at the big clock tower as he was walking through an empty town to see if he was running late. It read 6:30 PM and Ash's heart jumped. He immediately began to run like a madman across the town and into the forest on the edge of town.

At least 20 minutes had passed before Ash could get out of the forest and once he did, he was out of breath and exhausted. He looked in front of him and there in the distance, he saw the lights of Cerulean City begin to turn on. His face lit up with a smile and he started to run straight for the Gym.

Misty was walking slowly towards the end of town as she looked sadly to the ground. She had prepared the whole day for Ash and now it seemed like he wasn't going to show up… She was going to look for Ash on the off chance that he could've gotten lost in the forest nearby. She sighed as she continued to walk slowly to a fork in the road that led either to the north or south town exit. Misty started to head towards the north exit when all of a sudden she saw a blur come running from the south exit. As she looked back at what the heck had passed her, she saw that it was Ash! She began to call his name and ran after him as soon as she saw that he didn't stop.

Ash's heart began to beat faster as he saw the Cerulean Gym getting closer. He could finally see all his friends again after such a long time away from them, but somehow he was more excited he could finally see Misty again. As he got to the front entrance of the Gym, his heart felt like it was going to jump out his body as he slowed down to a walk.

Ash extended his hand to push the door open when he noticed his hand was shaking. Ash inhaled deeply and began to step forward getting closer to the door…closer…closer…closer! His hand was already on the cold surface of the door and he was about to push it when somebody screamed,

"ASH!" Ash jumped forward and his face smacked the front door. He then landed on his butt while Pikachu jumped off to the side. Ash rubbed his face as he stood up and he looked behind him to see who had screamed. There in front of him, doubled over in exhaustion and breathing heavily was Misty. Ash couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw before him. Misty was wearing an ankle-length red dress that sparkled in the setting sun with white gloves that just reached her elbow. As she straightened up, Ash held his breath as they made eye contact. She was wearing long diamond-encrusted earrings that shone with brilliance and her hair was worn down so that it barely touched her shoulders. Ash was taken aback at how beautiful Misty looked as the sun cast its golden rays onto her face. She stepped closer to him and Ash felt his heart beat like a drum.

"Ash, are you DEAF or something?" Misty screamed as she hit Ash across the head with her hand. "I ran after you in HIGH HEELS for the past mile, screaming my head off for you to stop, and now my feet are hurting, you're LATE, and we still have at least ten minutes of walking to get where the party is." Ash was on the floor grabbing onto his head in pain as Misty sat down on the benches to the side of the Gym and took off her red heels. Her feet were throbbing from the pain that they were in and she sighed as the feeling began to return to her toes. Ash got up and started walking towards her with his hand still on his head where she had hit him.

"I thought you said that the party was in the Gym. If I had known it was someplace _else_, maybe we wouldn't have this problem."

"Well we had a little accident last night in the Gym, which is why Daisy and I got in that huge argument. I had to have it repaired because we're, uh…, using it for later on, which is why the party had to be moved," Misty said while pointing down the road that was in front of the Gym. Ash looked down towards where Misty was pointing. Farther down the road, there was a bunch of cars that were waiting in the front of a luxurious hotel waiting to be parked by a chauffeur with a series of spotlights moving around in the sky. Ash looked back at Misty with his mouth wide open in shock. Misty smiled embarrassedly as she saw his expression.

"Is that supposed to be _my_ party?" Ash pointed to where the cars were. Misty nodded and blushed a little bit as Ash continued to stare at her dumbfounded. She handed him a black tux wrapped in plastic with matching apparel.

"Put this on so maybe you can at least look showered." He faked a laugh as he made his way around the Gym to change while Misty put on her heels. Once she was finished she glanced up and saw him standing over her, looking very dapper. She smiled slightly impressed and said,

"Well, shall we go then?" She smiled as she offered him her arm. Ash smiled back and he hooked his arm with hers as they began to walk down the road to the party with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. They shared stories of their travels together during their walk to the party until they finally reached the front door.

"Well, are you ready to go inside, Ash?" Misty said while smiling at him. Ash nodded, he was too stunned from the excitement to say anything. The two bellboys that waited in front of the door greeted them and opened the massive wooden doors for them. As the doors opened, a huge smile spread across Ash's face from the wondrous sight of the party.

Inside the room, the lights from the golden chandeliers shone a radiant light. Buffet tables packed with food were lined up against the sides of the gigantic room. Throughout the space, there were people sitting at long tables and a band playing in the background. At the end of the room in the middle was a gigantic ice sculpture in the shape of an open pokeball with a red velvet chair in the center with the words "Congratulations!" written on the edge.

Everybody in the room were people Ash had met during his journeys throughout the regions and his expression changed from awe to sheer joy as everyone greeted him in one unanimous shout. He waved back as everyone began to applaud with Misty walking right beside him with a wide smile on her face. They walked together to the giant ice sculpture and Ash sat down happily on the red velvet chair with Pikachu resting on the armrest. Misty stood by his side signaling for everyone to quiet down as one of the waiters brought a microphone. Misty gave the microphone to Ash and she signaled to him to speak into it.

"Um, well, ok…Oh wait is this on?" His voice boomed out of the speakers.

"Alright, well, I'm glad to see everyone again after such a long time. Um… I'm really grateful to Misty for putting in a lot of dedication and thought into this party. I was pretty surprised she would do something like this just for me!" As Ash said this, Misty's face turned as red as her dress and she looked away as some people started to laugh. Ash also blushed and he handed the microphone to Misty who still wanted to say some words.

"Well on behalf of everyone here, we want to say congratulations on doing so well in the league," Misty said and everyone began to clap and cheer and scream. Misty signaled that it was now time to eat and everyone rushed to the buffet tables. Ash and Misty went to the table reserved for just the closest friends. His mom, Professor Oak, Brock, May, Max, even Gary congratulated Ash as he sat down at the table.

"Really it's not a big deal…" Ash said as he held the back of his head in embarrassment and then he looked at Misty who seemed hurt from this comment.

"Excuse me; I have to go use the bathroom…" Misty said as she left her seat abruptly.

"Wait, Misty! I didn't mean it like that!" Ash said as he tried to stop her, but she was already gone by the time Ash lifted himself out of the chair. Ash sat back down in his chair, sad and frustrated at himself for hurting Misty's feelings. He felt a pat on his shoulder as Brock told him,

"Hey, don't worry about it…I'm sure Misty will realize that you didn't mean it." Ash smiled back at him and nodded as he patted Pikachu's head.

The party was close to finishing and everything was back to normal. Misty had forgiven Ash (after slapping him around a bit) and she was back at the table as Ash was recounting his stories in the Ivory Islands.

"…so this trainer came up to me after I had beaten him and I went to shake his hand for putting up a good battle when his hand slipped through my jacket and he grabbed my badges! I chased after, shouting at him to stop and when I finally caught up to him-"

"Hey Ash!" said a female voice behind him and as he turned to look at who greeted him, he felt her lips press against his cheek in a warm and welcoming kiss. Ash's face turned red as he looked up at the brown-haired girl.

"Hey Melody…" She smiled at him, flattered by the fact that he still remembered her name after such a long time. She looked at Misty whose expression had completely changed from a smile to a deep frown and glare. Misty tapped her blond sister's shoulder who was dancing nearby with a guy.

"Who invited _her_?" said Misty while pointing at Melody with her finger.

"Oh well, I was looking through your room and found a weird looking list that had a skull and crossbones on top of it. I saw her name and her phone number and address so I decided to invite her because she seemed like a close friend…Why do you ask?" Daisy said curiously.

"No reason at all…" said Misty angrily as Melody pinched Ash's cheek while teasing him as he fidgeted nervously.

"Well I think it's getting kind of late don't you think so, Melody? You must have a _long_ voyage ahead of you so why don't you just leave…" Misty said with a fake smile on her face as Melody had just invited Ash to dance with her.

"Oh, but this song is _so_ romantic and I think it's just appropriate for Ash and me, don't you think?" Melody said as she nudged Misty out of the way and pulled Ash out of his chair. The band began to play a slow and beautiful song as Misty sat in her chair with steam practically coming out of her ears as Ash and Melody started dancing _very_ close to each other. Once the song was over, they both came back to the table smiling at each other.

"Oh, what's the matter Misty? Did you want to dance wit your wittle boyfriend?" Melody said in a baby-like voice as she pinched Misty's cheek. Misty's face burned red as she swatted Melody's hand away.

"He's NOT my boyfriend!" Melody looked at her with a feigned confused expression and said,

"But I thought you were friends and well, he _is_ a boy so technically…" Misty's face turned an even darker shade of red as she burrowed her head into her arms to hide her face.

"Hey if you look at Misty's face, she looks like a giant cherry!" said Ash while pointing and laughing at her face.

"Oh, grow up, why don't you!" said Misty as her mallet met up with Ash's skull. Misty was still bright red as she walked away with her hands by her side as Ash tended to the big lump on his head from where Misty had smacked him.

Everybody had now left the party and only Ash's mom and Professor Oak were outside waiting for Ash to come out of the hotel. As Misty was talking on the phone, Ash walked outside and looked at his mom.

"Well are we ready to go?" Ash asked as he looked at the white convertible that was waiting in front of them with Gary in the driver's seat.

"Not quite…" said Professor Oak.

"Wha-" Ash was confused by this comment.

"What he means to say, honey, is that you're not leaving with us…" said his mom.

"I'm not?" said Ash even more confused.

"Nope. You're staying at my house for a while," Misty said smiling as she walked towards them.

"I…am?" Ash said a bit astonished. Delia began to explain,

"Misty and I already talked about it while you were away from your room during the league and we decided…"

"…that you were going to start training with me, your coach!" said Misty beaming. Ash's eyes widened in horror as he thought of the future training sessions awaiting him…

"But what about my clothes?" asked Ash terrified about the prospect of having nothing to wear.

"They're in the car, sweetie," Ash's mom said as she opened the trunk of the car revealing suitcases filled with Ash's belongings.

"But where am I going to sleep?" asked Ash now almost in a panic. He was not ready to start living with Misty, let alone train with her…

"Remember those repairmen I told you about earlier? Well they just called me and said that they were done fixing the room. So now you should have a bed, cabinets, and anything else to keep you comfortable," Misty said. "Besides aren't you looking forward to your stay in the Gym?"

She wrapped her arm around his neck. Ash looked at his mom with a horrified expression but she was already waving goodbye to them from the car.

"Bye sweetheart, have a good three months with Misty," said Delia smiling at him as she waved.

"THREE MONTHS?" Ash screamed as his eyes bulged out of his head. The car began to drive away and Ash started to chase after it yelling, "No, stop! Take me with youuuuuuu….."

They didn't even turn to look as Ash looked after them hopelessly, driving away into the darkness. Misty walked besides him while holding Pikachu and said with a smile,

"Well are you ready to go back to your new home?"

"Yeah, I guess…" said Ash as he hung his head low. He started to walk by her as they went down the road to the Gym to where Ash would face the hardest three months of his entire life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-Training Daze **

As they burst through the Gym door, Misty entered the Gym while holding Pikachu in her arms with Ash right behind her carrying all of his suitcases.

"Couldn't you at least help me out a _little_ bit?" Ash whined as his knees began to buckle under the weight of the suitcases that were stacked above his head.

"Come on Ash, you can handle it! And anyway, your training starts right now, now that you're with me and inside this house," said Misty with a grin on her face. Ash groaned as they began to walk down a set of stairs.

"Where are we going anyway?" Ash asked impatiently as the weight of the suitcases was getting the best of him.

"We're going to your room right now," said Misty as she turned the light on to a long and grey hallway.

"Here we are." She opened a door that was on the right of the hallway. Ash rushed in and dropped the suitcases on the floor while Pikachu jumped on top of the bed. After Ash had rested, he looked up at his room; it had a bed and a night stand that were on the side of the wall with a TV on top of a gigantic cabinet located by the door. There were no windows as it was practically in the basement of the Gym and as Ash looked to the corner of the room he could see some pipes running up through the ceiling with black tape covering it to stop the water.

"_Some repair job…_" Ash thought as he looked at the pipes as if they were ready to burst with water. Ash sat on top of the bed, unimpressed with the room and he looked up at the ceiling. It had a strange line cutting through the center so the only way to get light into the room was by means of the lamp on top of the night stand. He looked at Misty and she was looking at him, sort of waiting for a response as to what he thought of the room.

"Uh…it looks great." He was blatantly lying; with a smile so fake Misty immediately caught him. She looked at him with grin on her face then shook her head as she bid him goodnight.

"Hey Misty!" Misty turned and looked at Ash who had a sly grin on his face. "Don't I at least get a goodnight kiss?" Ash said pointing to his cheek with his finger. Misty giggled and responded,

"Not even in your dreams Ash Ketchum." But her face was pink from blushing and she shut the door. Ash stood up and turned off the lamp with a stupid grin on his face.

"_Speaking about dreams, what was that whole dream about last night?_" Ash wondered, remembering the strange dream from yesterday involving Misty and the forest. Ash climbed into bed and fell asleep still thinking about the dream…

Ash awoke the next morning when he heard someone knocking on the door. He looked at the clock and it read 5:30 AM. He ignored the knocking and went back to sleep. This time the knocking was louder and he could hear Misty's voice saying,

"Ash, its time for your training, so get up out of bed." He looked at the door and muttered,

"She must be crazy…" This time the knocking stopped and Misty yelled,

"I heard that!" Suddenly, she kicked open the door and looked at him with fire in her eyes as Ash scurried to the corner of his bed terrified out of his mind. She walked towards the bed, ripped the blanket out of his hands, got up close to his face and said fiercely,

"Are you awake and ready now?" He nodded without muttering a single word.

"Good. You're breakfast is upstairs ready for you so don't take too long getting ready or else it'll get cold," she said with a spring of energy, changing expressions in a split second. As soon as she left the room, Ash leaned back onto his bed with his heart beating rapidly and he stared up to the ceiling with a wide-eyed expression.

"_This is gonna be a rough three months_…"

Minutes later he finally reached the kitchen; he looked at the food served on the table. Then he nervously smiled as Misty was watching him like a hawk standing right beside the plate of food. Served on the plate was what appeared to be a fried egg gone horribly wrong; it was completely charred and black. Ash sat down glumly into his chair as he looked at the piece of food served before him. He took a fork and attempted to get a hold on it, but as soon as he applied pressure to the egg, it slipped off of the plate and smacked the wall, putting a dent in it. He slammed his head against the table and felt like he was going to cry.

"[I]There is definitely no way I'm going to make it through this for three months! I'll just tell Misty that the choice of whether or not I stay here is up to me and not her and I decided that I'm going back home. This is your chance Ash; you got to prove your manhood here by standing up to Misty…" He prepared himself mentally for what he made out in his head to be the epic battle of his life. He was rehearsing his lines in his head until he finally had it memorized and he lifted his head and stood up. He straightened his pants, puffed out his chest, and walked up to Misty and looked her straight in the eye.

"What's the matter Ash?" Misty asked sweetly as she looked at him with a curious expression. Ash exhaled the air in his chest and he went to pick up the fried egg up off the ground.

"No, nothing's the matter…" he muttered as he took a bite out of the egg. He looked at Misty who was happy to see Ash eating her cooking. He looked at her and thought,

"_Well, at least it makes her happy…_" as he forced the fried egg down.

Ash and Misty arrived in a park in the center of Cerulean after eating breakfast around 6:30 AM. In each of the four corners of the park, there was a marble blue fountain with a Goldeen spouting water out of its mouth while looking up at the sky. In the center there was a giant fountain with four more Goldeens looking in the directions of the four corners and a giant Seaking in the middle that shot water out of its horn. He was amazed at the lush green scenery that was Queen Park. There was a trail that led all around it and the few joggers that had woken up early in the morning were traversing it. There were some who were just sitting on the benches throughout the park playing with their pokemon or children. It was very serene and quiet and Ash wondered what they were going to do here. Misty said,

"This is my favorite place to go when there is nothing to do in the Gym. It's very peaceful and relaxing here and it sure can take a lot out of your head." Ash looked at Misty who had closed her eyes as she was smiling trying to rid herself of her troubles. She sighed and turned to Ash with a determined look on her face.

"But we didn't come here just to relax…" She reached into her pocket.

"W-we didn't?" Ash said as he was looking at what Misty was pulling out.

"I'm afraid not Ash." She pulled a silver whistle out of her pocket; she placed it around her neck and blew it. The whistle pierced the calm atmosphere of the park and Ash looked at her in shock.

"You're in for a rude awakening Ash, if you think I'm going to go easy on you," she said as she began to walk towards the center fountain. "But since today is your first day, we'll start off nice and slow…" She thought for a second..

"Let's see…a lap around the park is at least a quarter of a mile (0.4 km) so…"

"You're going to run 12 laps around the park as soon as I blow this whistle and I don't expect you to stop until you're finished. That means no breaks," Misty said while poising herself to get ready to blow the whistle.

"WHAT! You expect me to run that much! Are you crazy? And does that mean you're just going to stand there while I run?" He looked at Misty horrified.

"And…" a shrill whistle sounded through the air as Misty blew into the whistle. Ash still stood there looking at her.

"I'm not going to run this!" Ash said while Misty stood there looking at him. "And there is nothing you can do to make me…" As he said this, he crossed his arms and sat down on the trail.

"I'm afraid you're wrong Ash…" Misty said as her temper began to rise. "Now you're either going to run on the count of three or you're going to have to get reacquainted with my mallet!" As she said this, she pulled out her signature red mallet while looking Ash straight in the eyes. Ash looked at the mallet in fright, not willing to withstand another concussion…

"ONE…TWO…" As Misty began to countdown, she got closer to Ash steadying her mallet. "THREE!" She lifted her mallet into the air and Ash quickly got up and began to run for his life. "NOW YOU HAVE TO RUN 4 MORE LAPS, JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT!" Misty screamed after him as Ash turned his head to look back at her.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" Ash yelled back at her as he began to make a run for the Gym. Just as he was going to exit the park, a red mallet flew at him at an awesome speed and hit him square in the head. Ash instantly fell down and was KO'd.

"_That'll teach him…_" Misty thought to herself as she came running towards Ash. He had swirls for eyes and was muttering nonsense as Misty came closer.

"Next time use your head before you cross me," Misty said as she lifted him off the ground and began to carry him to the Gym.

Ash slowly walked into a café during the afternoon with Pikachu on his shoulder and a huge band-aid across the back of his head. He sat sadly at the bar and the bartender walked up to him.

"What's the matter, bud? You havin' some problems?" the bartender said as Ash turned his head slowly to look at him.

"Yeah...I guess you can say that they're girl problems…" He held his head in depression.

"It'll be alright kid…They're plenty of girls out there waiting for you…Just don't hold yourself down because of one girl," the bartender said as he patted Ash on the back. "You want sometin' drink? Trust me it helps…" The bartender turned around to get a glass of soda.

"You don't understand…" The bartender looked back curiously at Ash. "It's not because she left me…" Ash said signaling for the bartender to get closer. "It's because she is _right here, right now…_" He pointed to the right where Misty was sitting, dressed in an overcoat and brown hat to disguise herself from Ash. She looked over her shoulder as she pretended to eat the food on her table.

"She's slowly _killing_ me…You've got to help me," he said grabbing the bartender by his shirt. The bartender released himself from the grip as he looked back at Ash with a weird look on his face. He went to the other side of the counter and slid a glass of soda across to Ash. Ash sighed and sadly extended his hand to catch the soda, but it was soon stopped by a brown glove. Misty drank the soda right in front of Ash as he looked at her horrified. She smiled back at him as she finished the soda with a sigh.

It was now starting to get dark and Misty and Ash were returning back to the Gym after a brief scuffle in the bar in which Ash had lost and ended up paying for Misty's bill for the food she had ordered. Ash was tired beyond belief and he was ready to collapse so he was glad that they were finally going back home. They entered through the front doors and Ash started to head towards his room.

"Where are you going, Ash?" Misty asked him as she stood there waiting for him. Ash looked at her curiously and said,

"I'm going to my room, why?" Misty grinned and said,

"You're still not done with your training…" Ash's eyes widened and he screamed,

"WHAT?" Soon Misty was dragging Ash by his feet as he dug his nails into the floor, fighting for his freedom. They entered the part of the Gym that the pool was located in and Misty let go of his feet as she closed the door and locked it. Ash got up and looked at her miserably.

"Now what?" he said. He couldn't handle anymore of this training.

"Swim four laps around the pool," Misty said with a smile. Ash looked at her in terror because he didn't have his bathing suit on and he was way too tired.

"And…GO!" As Misty said this, she pushed Ash into the pool and blew her whistle. Immediately, Ash began to swim slowly around the pool while Misty and Pikachu looked from the sidelines. As he crossed his second lap, he could hear Misty screaming back at him, saying things like: "Hurry up, you Slowpoke!" or "My Psyduck can swim faster than that and he doesn't even know _how_ to!"

As soon as Ash was done, he climbed out of the pool and collapsed onto the ground, his arms aching and his legs sore. Misty stood over him, looking down at him.

"OK Ash, time to hit the showers," she said with a mischievous grin on her face. Ash looked at her while raising his eyebrow, wondering what she was smiling about…

Misty followed Ash with a grin on her face until he entered the bathroom. As soon as Ash closed the door, he immediately checked for any holes in the wall to see if Misty could peek in at any given time. Everything was in one piece, though and Ash scratched his head, wondering what Misty was so happy about. He simply shrugged, got undressed and entered the shower. He turned on the shower head and sighed in relief as the hot water came down on him and soothed his aching muscles. He was in such a state of relaxation that he didn't notice Misty opening the door, taking his soaked clothes and all of the towels with the exception of a tiny hand towel and closing the door, all the while snickering to herself.

Ash turned off the shower and opened the sliding glass door. Steam had completely filled up the room so Ash searched blindly for a towel to dry himself with. The only towel he came across was a tiny piece of cloth that fit just across his hand. He then looked to the floor in panic and saw that his clothes were gone! Ash opened the bathroom door just a little as he screamed,

"MISTY! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY CLOTHES?" Misty giggled as she held a video camera in her hands ready to record.

Ash grumbled to himself as he was putting his clothes back on in the privacy of his room. He thought the coast was clear when he looked out from the door of the bathroom so he stepped outside and was walking towards his room. He was using the towel to cover himself when he saw Misty standing right in front of him, a video camera in her hand as she smiled with glee. He remembered turning a bright red as he sprinted down the stairs to his room and shutting the door so hard that it nearly knocked it off its hinges…and Misty stood there recording everything.

He shook his head with embarrassment as he looked at the digital clock on the night stand: it read 9:07 PM. He then heard a bunch of girls break out in raucous laughter from upstairs.

"_Probably showing her sisters the video_," Ash said with remorse as his face turned red. He climbed into bed and turned off the light trying to ignore the laughter from above. Slowly, he drifted into sleep.

Ash awoke suddenly as he heard a person open the door at 11:25 PM. Ash quickly turned on the lamp as he looked towards the door; it was Misty and she was crying. First, she was shocked, but then, she turned her head away from him in embarrassment and began to walk out of the room.

"Misty, wait!" Ash said as he jumped out of bed and went to her side. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she stopped. "What's the matter, Misty, why are you crying?" Ash tried to get her to turn around.

"Nothing…it's just… Every time I get depressed I sometimes went to this room and would look up at the ceiling until it passed or I fell asleep. It just sort of became a habit and I forgot that you were in here…" Misty said quietly with her back still turned to Ash. He looked up in confusion at the ceiling; it was a similar grey that matched the room's walls. Ash didn't see anything special about it, but he turned to Misty and tried to get her to look at him.

"You can still stay here if you want Misty. I'll even help you; we'll both look at the ceiling together." As Ash said this, he led Misty to sit down on top of the bed in then he leaned back and stared at the grey ceiling. Misty looked at him and laughed. Ash looked at her and asked,

"What's so funny?" Misty looked at him with a smile on her face and told him that's not what she meant by looking at the ceiling.

"What?" As he was about to ask her what she really meant, Misty reached over him and pressed a red button that was behind the lamp. Slowly, the grey ceiling began to part in two and it began to reveal something behind it. Ash's eyes opened in awe as Misty leaned back beside him and smiled from the sight.

As the ceiling opened wider, Ash could see from the bottom of the aquarium where the shows were held as various pokemon that belonged to the Gym swam leisurely across the water. The glass ceiling of the room above them cast the moon's light into the room, which hit the clear blue waters of the aquarium causing the color of the room to change from a bland grey to a vivid and beautiful deep sea blue and Ash gazed from wonderment as the lights mixed together inside the room. Misty had stopped crying, but she still looked sad. Ash turned towards her and gently asked her what was wrong. Misty sighed as she looked through the clear floor of the aquarium.

"I was just thinking about what we did today and what I used to do when you were gone. I never remembered having so much fun that I guess I got carried away today…I'm sorry Ash…" Misty began to get up, but Ash held her back.

"It's alright Misty, you don't have to apologize. It was actually pretty funny how you got me with the bathroom now that I remember it," Ash said with a comforting smile. Misty looked at him and smiled and lied by his side again. Misty began to explain,

"It's been very lonely here in the Gym when nobody was here. Like when my sisters would go shopping and leave the Gym for me to take care of, I would wait all by myself, waiting for the next trainer who would come to challenge me for a badge for the whole day." As she said this, her tears were starting to come back and Ash laid his hand against her face.

"Don't worry so much about the past Misty…I'm here right now and as long as I'm here, you won't ever be lonely again." Ash smiled at her and Misty looked at his comforting brown eyes that seemed to swim into her soul and remove the aching weight in her heart. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Ash rubbed her arm with his right hand as his left arm hugged around her shoulder.

He asked Misty if she wanted to stay in the room for the night so she wouldn't be alone. He would get an extra blanket and pillow if she needed one and she shyly nodded. Ash quickly got up and went to Misty's room to get her a blanket and pillow as quietly as he could. He returned back to his room where Misty was standing up as she looked at his badge cases. As Ash got the bed ready, Misty was intrigued by something and asked,

"Why do you keep all of your old badges with you even though you've already passed the league?" Ash looked to see what she was talking about. On top of the cabinet where the TV was located, all of Ash's badge cases were sitting on top of another and Misty had picked out his Kanto badge case.

"I guess it sort of reminds me of how far I've gotten so far," he said with a smile as he looked fondly at the Cascade badge that was supposedly "given" to him out of pity. Misty smiled back at him and she closed the case. Ash was tired so he climbed into bed followed by Misty, each one sleeping in their own blankets.

"Goodnight Misty," Ash said while turning off the lamp, but not closing the ceiling, leaving the room in a blue hue.

"Goodnight Ash…and thanks for everything," Misty said as she laid her arm over his chest. He smiled and soon both of them fell into a deep sleep…


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-The Path to a New Beginning**

The morning sun rose up into the air and its golden yellow rays entered Ash's room. Misty stirred a little then she opened her eyes and yawned gracefully. She looked to her side; Ash was sleeping peacefully as he held onto his pillow while Pikachu was sleeping at Ash's feet. Misty smiled and began to climb out of bed when she heard a noise outside of the door that sounded like footsteps. Misty got up as quietly as she could and tiptoed towards the door, placing her ear on it to listen to what was happening. All of a sudden, Lily kicked the door open, knocking Misty back five feet. Her three sisters stood in the doorway and Ash awoke with a fright as he looked at what had happened.

"AHA! Caught you two in the act!" Daisy said, looking at the two clueless teenagers. "Go Dewgong! Use Ice Beam on that pervert!" She pointed her finger to Ash.

The Sea Lion pokemon came out of its pokeball and she looked at Ash with anger in her eyes. Ash began to explain,

"No! It's not what you think at all!" But before he could say anymore, Dewgong fired an Ice Beam from her horn and it hit Ash square in the chest and held him against the wall in a frozen cocoon. Misty looked in horror as Ash attempted to free himself as his teeth chattered from the unbearable cold he was in.

"Alright Dewgong, finish him off with a Hydro Pump!" Daisy said fiercely. Dewgong jumped into the air and reared her head backwards as she charged to fire her most powerful attack.

"No! Stop!" Misty screamed as she stood up to try and block the attack, but before she could get the chance, a huge stream of water passed right before her eyes and she heard a yell coming from Ash's direction. Misty looked towards Ash who had been hit with the attack; he was literally buried five feet into the wall and didn't make another noise.

"That'll teach him," Daisy said with a smirk. Then she looked at Misty and she began to scold her. "Misty! I thought you were raised better than that!" Misty looked at her with a strange look and she said,

"Nothing happened last night! All we did was fall asleep in the same bed!" Daisy looked at Misty skeptically. "If you don't believe me then look at the videotape from the camera in this room! You'll see nothing happened at-" All of a sudden Ash appeared out of the deep hole in the wall.

"Hold it; you mean there's a _camera_ in my _room_ that videotapes me 24/7?" Misty looked over at him and cursed at herself for saying that aloud. Ash began to search desperately around the room.

"Ash, I honestly don't know what you're talking about! There's no _camera_ in this room! I think I'm just…tired, yeah…that's it…" Misty said as Ash continued to search throughout the room.

"Oh? Then what is _this_?" Ash said as he pulled out a small camera from the television set.

"Err…" Misty said while trying to search for a logical explanation as to why there was a camera inside the TV. She obviously couldn't find one so she stayed quiet as her sisters watched from the doorway, completely forgetting about the incident that happened this morning.

"So you mean to say that you have a video of me _completely_ in the _nude_, from a small camera that you hid behind the TV and you didn't even tell me? No wonder it didn't work when I tried it out; there isn't even anything behind this screen!" Ash screamed, about to blow up from the rage he was experiencing.

"Alright Ash that's enough," Violet said stepping forward with a grin on her face. "Let's just forget this ever happened and go upstairs for breakfast…" Ash looked at her suspiciously.

"And how do I know that _you_ weren't involved in this scheme?" Ash said getting in front of Violet's face. She stepped back nervously, trying to reassure him that neither she nor her sisters had anything to with it. It was all _Misty's_ fault.

"WHAT? You liar! You're the one that tried it out on Tracey in the first place!" Misty said infuriated at this betrayal.

"Yeah, but you're the one that wanted to keep it around for your little _boyfriend_ there," Daisy said looking smug as Misty turned scarlet red. She stormed out of the room in anger as Ash looked at everyone in the room with a bewildered look on his face.

"Ugh…I think I need more sleep." The room began to spin in circles and he fainted, landing on the floor.

Ash slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He was in a different room now; it was completely white and he was lying on top of a cushioned bed. He saw a woman who had straight pink hair that passed her shoulder and she was moving some medical supplies around. It wasn't Nurse Joy though, and as she turned around, Ash was surprised to see that it was Lily who was attending him. Ash began to get up and Lily turned around to look at him.

"Are you feeling better now?" Lily said as she looked at Ash with concern.

"Yeah I guess…How long was I out?" he asked while holding onto his head.

"About ten minutes…" she said looking at the clock on the wall. "Misty is waiting for you in the kitchen by the way. She's cooking breakfast as we speak." Ash wasn't too excited about this…

"_Great…Now I'm gonna suffer from food poisoning…_"

Ash reluctantly walked into the dining room that was located right beside the kitchen. From afar, he could hear the sizzling of the pan as he smelled an aroma that wafted through the air.

"_Smells good…_" He looked inside the kitchen fromthe dining room. In front of the stove were two women, one with long purple hair and the other a short-haired red head, cooking bacon. It seemed as though Violet was teaching Misty how to cook and Ash smiled as Misty slammed a burnt piece of bacon at the floor in frustration. Misty let out a sigh as she stomped it into little pieces and she looked towards the dining room; Ash was sitting at the table looking at her curiously and Misty turned away from embarrassment. She did not want to see him now; she was still too embarrassed about the camera she was using to spy on him.

"Here you go," Violet said as she handed Misty a plate with bacon, eggs, and rice on it. "Go give it to Ash," she said pushing Misty out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Misty looked awkwardly at Ash then furiously at Violet. Violet coaxed her to give him the food. Misty was so nervous that the entire plate was shaking as she walked towards him. She closed her eyes and dropped the plate on the table. Ash still didn't say anything and Misty ran towards the kitchen.

"Here…give him this hot chocolate and tell him that you made it just for him because you felt sorry for lying to him," Violet said as she handed Misty a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

"But-"

"Just trust me…It always works, now go!" She once again pushed Misty out of the kitchen. Misty looked nervously at Ash who still had not touched his food. She began to apologize,

"I'm sorry for lying to you; here's some hot chocolate." She quickly handed the cup to Ash. He looked at her surprised and he said,

"You don't have to apologize, Misty, I forgive you, but do you think I can get a fork and knife so I can eat this food?" Misty looked at him, shocked. She nodded happily and as she turned around, her untied shoelace got caught underneath her foot and she tripped and spilled the cup of steaming hot chocolate on his face.

"AHHHHHHH!" Ash screamed in pain as he jumped backwards and fell out of his chair, landing on his head. He passed out again as Misty looked on in horror.

During that day, Ash spent the majority of his time in the first aid room as Misty continually tried to make it up to him, failing miserably every time, costing Ash a trip to the infirmary every half hour. Ash had to stop Misty and tell her that he accepted her apology and that she didn't have to make it up to him, more concerned for his safety than anything else.

After that day had passed, Ash began his daily training. Every morning, he would have to wake up at 6:00 AM, go running in Queen Park, workout it in the local gymnasium, then go swimming in the Cerulean Gym while Misty watched over him, making sure he completed his daily regiment and occasionally, joining him. During the little time they spent in the house, Misty was getting cooking lessons from Violet while Ash trained his pokemon against Daisy who was progressing as a Gym trainer. Ash and his sisters grew very close and eventually Daisy got over it whenever Ash and Misty would go to sleep together, as long as they left the door open. As for the videotape, it somehow disappeared over time and was never spoken of again…

Three months had passed and today was the last night that Ash would spend in Cerulean City. He had plans of going to Johto again to test how good he had become. The league was going to start in 5 months so Ash would have just enough time if he left tomorrow. He asked Misty if she was going to go with him and she happily agreed saying that there was probably no way she would get stuck with the Gym because her sisters had told her that they were going to stay home for a little longer. Ash and Misty were finishing their routine swim around the pool and Misty crossed her final lap so she climbed out of the pool.

She was wearing a skimpy blue two-piece bathing suit that complimented her slim body and she was panting from the workout. Ash began to climb out of the pool and Misty watched him very closely. The training Ash had gone through helped him develop muscles all over his body and Misty giggled like a giddy schoolgirl as she looked at Ash's body. He looked at her and asked her with a smile,

"What's the matter, why are you laughing?" Misty bit her lower lip and said,

"Well I felt that since today is the last night we spend together…we could go to a restaurant out by the Cerulean Cape later on." Ash smiled widely and agreed.

"Alright, so be ready by 9 o'clock, OK?" Misty said. Ash looked over at the clock, it read 8:01 PM. He nodded and went immediately to the bathroom and locked the door to prevent Misty from entering.

Misty was fixing her hair in her bedroom when Daisy entered without knocking.

"So where are you going at a time like this all dressed up like that?" Daisy said with a smirk on her face.

"None of your business, that's what!" Misty said as she turned to look at her. Misty was dressed in a white gown that reached her knees and it was split on the side of her thigh so it revealed a bit of her leg. She had small gold earrings and a pearl necklace wrapped around her neck with white heels on her feet. Her hair was worn in her usual hairstyle, but she was going to let it down. Daisy began to speak,

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were going on a da-"

"Well you don't know any better so shut up!" Misty snapped back while blushing. Daisy smiled happily.

"Aww, my little sister's going to go out on her first dat-"

"I said shut up! I am not!" Misty said turning even redder as she struggled with her ponytail. "Oh, forget this! Ash, are you ready yet?" Misty yelled outside of her room as she gave up on her hair.

"I've been ready," Ash said as he walked to Misty's bedroom. He was dressed in a black dress pants and shirt and tie, leaving his hat in his room. Pikachu was going to stay with Misty's sisters and he was in the living room sleeping on top of Violet's lap. Misty smiled as she saw how handsome Ash looked while Ash gaped in awe at Misty's astonishing beauty. Daisy smiled as she looked at the two of them and she began to push Misty out of the room while saying,

"You two better start leaving now before it gets too late. I don't want you to get back later than 11:00 or else I'm locking you out." Misty looked back sourly at Daisy.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, you know. I can take care of myself!" Misty said. "Let's go Ash." Misty gave Ash her arm and they began to walk out of the door. Daisy smirked as Ash held the door open for Misty.

"Have fun on your DATE!" Daisy yelled back at them as Misty slammed the door quickly.

They reached a crescent shaped building that had glass windows instead of a solid wall for the outer part of the building. The light shone through the large windows and Ash gazed up at wonder at the top of the restaurant. He could see two silhouettes outlined by the full moon that were so close to each other that they seemed to blend into one black outline. Misty pulled on Ash's arm for him to walk faster and they began to walk towards the door that was located on the inside of the crescent. Over the front door of the restaurant was a sign with neon pink letters: "Cape d'Amour" that lit each word in a sequence. They both entered the restaurant where a waiter stood by the front door.

"Do you have a reservation, miss?" the waiter said in a very stuffy accent.

"Yes, it's under Misty, you know…Misty the Cerulean City Gym Leader?" She presented her Gym Trainer Card in annoyance at the waiter. The waiter opened his eyes in shock.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Waterflower. Right this way, please." The waiter turned around and began to lead them to a set of stairs that was off to the side of the restaurant. Ash looked at Misty confused and asked,

"What happened back there?"

"Well since I'm the Gym leader of this city, I get special privileges and one of them is a special VIP section in this restaurant just for me," Misty said with a smile. The waiter opened a red curtain and held it open for them as he bowed his head. Ash looked at the room with amazement. The sole table in the room was decorated with lit candles, a colorful flower basket, and a dark red velvet tablecloth that matched the color of the unlit room. The wall to their side was more like an assortment of windows bunched together so the white light of the moon entered the room, magnifying the dark red of the curtains, table, chairs, and walls. Misty sat down in her chair as Ash sat adjacent to her still gawking at their surroundings.

Misty beckoned for the waiter to come take their order. The waiter from the front door stepped up to them and said in his usual stuffy accent,

"How may I serve you today?"

"What do you recommend for a dinner for two?" Misty asked. Ash turned to look at her with a curious look. Misty smiled back at him as she saw his reaction from the corner of her eyes.

"We have a special called the 'Moonlight Delight.' It consists of a large piece of turkey served with white shrimp, white rice, and an assortment of vegetables served on the side. It's been given high markings in various food magazines and I highly recommend it," the waiter said with obvious pride.

"What do you think of it Ash?" Misty asked turning to look at him. Ash was daydreaming about Misty as he looked at her when his senses returned.

"Oh! Uh…Yeah, I guess it sounds alright…" even though he was unsure of what the waiter had described. Misty blushed as she knew what Ash was so distracted from and she told the waiter that they would have the "Moonlight Delight."

The waiter said it would arrive in at least 15 minutes and he bid them farewell. He disappeared behind the curtains and Ash soon began to talk about their journey to Johto. He was very excited about the new experiences they were bound to share together and he spoke enthusiastically about it, but it seemed that the subject had a reverse effect on Misty. She simply nodded or kept quiet as Ash did all the talking. Something was bothering Misty, but she didn't want to reveal it to Ash just yet as it would spoil the evening…

"Here is your order. Enjoy," the waiter said as he arrived with a large steaming plate of food. He moved the decorations off the table and set the plate down; it took up nearly half the table and Ash salivated from the delicious odor of the food. The waiter left the silverware on the table and he exited through the curtains once again. Ash began to pig out on the food while Misty looked at Ash with an awkward look as bits and pieces of food began to fly all around.

After they had finished the food, Ash had to go use the bathroom so he left the money on the table as they exited the VIP room and entered the main lobby of the restaurant. He quickly left to the bathroom while Misty looked at the clock to see what time it was; it was now 10:50 and Misty began to worry if whether Daisy was bluffing about locking them out.

Ash walked out of the bathroom shortly after when he noticed a large staircase in the center of the room. There was large a sign in front of it that read: Passion Balcon. Ash wondered what the sign could mean and he asked a nearby waiter with short black hair as to what was upstairs.

"Why don't you check it out yourself?" the waiter said with a smile. "I highly recommend you bring somebody else along with you though." Ash nodded and he began to look for Misty. He saw her by the front desk, talking on the phone. He signaled for Misty to come with him upstairs and she held out the palm of her hand to signal for him to wait. Ash couldn't wait though as his curiosity was getting the best of him so he went to the staircase.

As he climbed to the top, a metallic blue double door in front of him had just closed. He went to open it and when he touched it, it was cold to his fingertips. As he opened it, a cool breeze hit Ash in the face and his eyes widened as he looked around at his surroundings. He was on the top of the restaurant and he could see all of the lit buildings of Cerulean City from the balcony. He was admiring the beautiful view when he opened his eyes in shock at what he had just noticed.

All around him, there were couples that were either sitting at tiny tables and looking into each other's eyes lovingly while sharing drinks or standing really close to each other. Under the moon's light Ash could see that the couples who were embracing each other were passionately kissing and he suddenly had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

"Hey Ash!" He turned around and saw that Misty had opened the doors. He looked away nervously as the full moon wrapped Ash in its light. Misty began to walk towards him when she too realized all of the couples around them. She gasped in shock and she looked towards Ash who was also looking towards her. They quickly turned away and they both were blushing.

"Umm… Ash, it's 11 o'clock so we should be leaving right now," Misty said, still avoiding his gaze.

"Sure…" Ash muttered as he turned around to open the door. Misty was standing right in front of it and as he leaned forwards, she thought he was going to give her a kiss so she also leaned forward to give him a kiss while she puckered her lips. They both stopped midway, each looking at each other. Misty turned a very bright red and she turned around when she realized that Ash was just opening the door. Ash looked at her with a confused look, wondering what she was so embarrassed about. She walked through the door and he followed right behind her.

After a quiet trip back to the Gym, they told each other goodnight as they left for they're individual rooms. Misty was still thinking about whether or not she should mention to Ash her secret, but she decided that she would leave it for tomorrow morning…

Ash got up in the morning at 7:14 AM feeling great and energized for the long journey ahead of him. He looked at Pikachu who was sleeping right next to him. He woke him up and asked with enthusiasm,

"Ready for the big day ahead of us, buddy?" Pikachu perked up and responded happily. Just then Ash heard somebody quietly knocking on his door. He got up and opened it to find Misty waiting there with her hair down and bags under her eyes. Ash looked at her taken aback,

"Did you have a rough sleep last night?" Misty nodded and she yawned loudly.

"Breakfast is ready upstairs so come up whenever you're ready." Misty barely muttered her words as she turned around and walked upstairs in her yellow cotton pajamas. Ash smiled, closed the door and quickly changed into his traveling clothes. After he finished getting ready, he went upstairs and entered the dining room.

Surprisingly, no one was in the Gym except for Misty and Ash began to grow suspicious as at least one of the older sisters would be up early cooking breakfast. Misty appeared with a bowl of cereal and put it next to the plates of sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast served in front of him. Ash looked at amazement at the delicious food before him. Misty smiled and said,

"Can't leave on an empty stomach, right?" Ash smiled back and sat down in his chair, but before he began to eat he looked curiously at Misty. She had no food in front of her and she wasn't dressed or ready to leave. Ash was about to ask her why she wasn't prepared when the phone rang.

"I'll go get that," Misty said as she walked off. Ash wondered what was going on; Misty's sisters weren't inside the Gym and Misty apparently seemed as if she wasn't going to leave… Ash then made the connection in his head and he quickly got up to talk to Misty.

"I _know_! Don't worry, the Gym will be fine once you come back," Misty said. "OK. Alright already! I have done this before Daisy, I thin-" Suddenly Ash came running up to her,

"We need to talk right now!" Ash looked her in the eyes with worry.

"I'll talk to you later, Daisy…" Misty hung up the phone slowly and she looked at Ash. "What's the matter, Ash?"

"Are you coming with me to Johto?" Ash asked. Misty bit her lip. She looked towards the ground and she closed her eyes and she slowly shook her head. Her eyes felt like welling with tears as Ash kept quiet from the shock of her response. She knew that he was very excited about traveling with her because they had grown close to each other during his stay in the Gym and she felt as if she had split his hope in two. Just then, though, Ash's arms wrapped around her body as he embraced her and he laid his head down on her shoulders. Misty looked up in surprise, but didn't say a word as she slowly put her arms around Ash and hugged him back. Unbeknownst to Misty, Ash was silently holding everything back as he gripped onto her tighter.

After eating breakfast, Ash slowly walked towards the front door of the Gym with Pikachu on his shoulder and Misty by his side. He sighed as they exited through the doors and the cold air bit at Ash's face. He looked up at the sun that was hidden behind the grey clouds in the sky; for some reason it seemed unusually dim and lonely and so far away. He shivered and he quickly turned away from the sun and looked at Misty.

She was grabbing onto her arms to keep herself warm as she looked far off into the distance. Ash took off his jacket and wrapped it around Misty. He was dressed in his Hoenn attire with the exception of the sweater that was now wrapped around her. They both stood there silently looking at each other, never uttering a word and _never_ taking their eyes off of each other.

Misty then felt a sudden impulse in her body and she stepped forwards and grabbed Ash tightly around the back as she rested her head against his chest. Ash smiled as he stroked her hair with one hand while with the other he rubbed her back. She looked up at him with watery eyes and let go of him. He sighed and uttered a small goodbye that choked as it reached his mouth. He quickly turned around and began to walk away from the Gym, wiping away the stray tear coming down from his eyes…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-A Battle with Fate**

"…so you'll call back as soon as you can?" Misty spoke into the phone while looking into the videophone screen where Ash was looking back at her with a serious expression.

"I'll try Misty…To be honest, I hardly ever stop in a Pokemon Center anymore; I just carry a couple of potions along and sleep outside…" It was just three days after he had left the Gym and he was already starting to miss her…

"Well…Whenever you get the chance, call back alright?" Misty said while forcing a smile. Ash looked back at her with a wide grin.

"You can count on it!" he said as he gave her the thumbs up. She smiled and they both hang up after giving their goodbyes. She then looked sadly at the screen after it just turned off. She was going to be alone in the Gym for awhile as her sisters needed to leave on another one of their worldwide vacations. She stood up after reflecting for a moment and walked off to clean the completely silent Gym…

It was mid-afternoon and Misty looked up at the clear blue sky as the sunlight shone through the glass roof of the Gym arena. She had just finished defeating a beginning trainer and was starting to mop the floor when she heard a call from afar.

"Misty! You got a phone call!" Violet yelled from the living room. Misty wondered who could be calling as she began to walk towards the living room. She thought for a moment if it could be Ash who was calling her, but then decided not to get her hopes up. Two months had passed and Misty still had not received any word from him since his last phone call...

Misty walked into the room and sat down in front of the videophone with a sigh as Violet quietly exited the living room with a secret smile on her face.

"Hello?" she said responding into the phone.

"Hey Misty! How've you been?" Ash appeared on the screen with a grin that reached from ear to ear with Pikachu resting on his shoulder. Misty suddenly brightened up,

"Hey Ash, it's about time you called back!" she said smiling back at him. They began to talk about how far he had gotten so far (he was already up to his fifth badge), about when Misty would come to visit him now that her sisters were back from their vacation, about his journeys in Johto, and so on…

It was pitch black outside when Misty had finally hung up the phone. She stood up and nothing could seem to bring her down from the clouds because of how happy she felt. She was passing in front of the living room when she was abruptly stopped by Daisy who was standing in the hallway, apparently waiting for her.

"And where do you think you're going?" she said with a smirk. Misty looked back at her pleasantly,

"I'm going to go to sleep, why?" Daisy picked up the mop and bucket and held it out in front of her.

"Because I need you to clean up the arena from the mess you made this afternoon and mop up the aquarium too while you're at it." Misty looked at her hesitantly as Daisy placed the mop and bucket in her hands.

"Why do _I_ have to do everything?" she whined as Daisy turned around and faced the living room.

"Because I'm tired from walking around all day; besides, you _are_ the runt of the family," she said as she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Misty stared at her in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? You never do anything all day, you just sit around and flirt with the guys that come in here!" Daisy seemed to be ignoring her which infuriated her even more. She turned around and muttered to herself about how mistreated she was.

Misty was trying to get a spot out of the floor in the pool arena as she scrubbed at it viciously with a mop. She grumbled about the irremovable spot as she continued to scrub faster and harder until the stick of the mop split in half. She screamed and chucked the piece she had in her hand across the room. She looked towards the door quickly with a furious fire that burned in her eyes when she heard it open quietly. Daisy looked at her with wide eyes as she said,

"Maybe I should come back later…" Misty barked back at her,

"What do you want?" Daisy got over her shock and returned to her old smug look.

"Well I forgot to tell you that you received a _present_ from your _boyfriend_ in the mail, but I guess since you're in a bad mood I can always give it to you tomorrow…" Misty instantly changed expressions.

"A present? From Ash?" Daisy looked at her with a sly grin,

"Uh-huh…but I guess I'll hold onto it until you're finished…" Daisy turned around and began to walk towards the door.

"WAIT!" Daisy turned around with a smirk and she coolly said,

"What's the matter now?" Misty looked at the floor as Daisy turned to look at her.

"Do you think I could have the present?" asked Misty, still avoiding her gaze.

"What was that?" Daisy said smiling as she cupped her ear.

"I _said_ can I have the present?" Misty said clenching her teeth and hands, closing her eyes in anger.

"What's the magic word?" Daisy smirked.

"Can I _please_ have the present?" Misty said feeling ready to slap the grin off of Daisy's face. Daisy threw a package wrapped in brown paper into Misty's arms. On the front side of the package it said in bold black letters: TO MISTY, FROM ASH. Misty smiled as she saw HAPPY BIRTHDAY written in big bold red letters across the whole package. She looked up and she saw that Daisy had already left so she began to walk towards her bedroom leaving what was left of the mop on the floor.

She closed the door, locked it and laid the package on top of her sky blue bed. She unraveled the brown wrapping until it revealed a long white cardboard box. Her heart beat in excitement as she began to lift the lid off of the small box. As soon as she lifted the lid, a piece of paper fell out revealing what was kept inside the box.

It was a crystal blue teardrop-shaped jewel with a gold chain going through the tip of the teardrop. Misty gasped in surprise at the beautiful necklace that she recognized to be as the rare and valuable Mystic Water Pendant. She took a glass of water that was in her room and carefully dropped a drop of water onto it as she held the necklace in mid-air. As the drop hit the jewel, the necklace glowed a radiant blue and the drop increased in size as it dripped off of the jewel and fell onto the floor.

It was truly authentic and Misty quickly placed it around her neck in ecstasy. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror with the necklace dangling from her neck. It was cold to the touch because a Mystic Water Pendant is supposedly filled with water taken from a rare fountain that lay to the far north of the world. It was sought by sailors and merchants and over the years the water had almost disappeared from the fountains. Afterwards it was forbidden for anyone to take from the fountain ever again. That's why only a few of the people throughout the world own a Mystic Water Pendant and the ones who do own it are family of sailors who sought out the pendant centuries ago or rich entrepreneurs. Misty remembered about the piece of paper that fell out of the box and she went to pick it up off the floor. She opened it and it read:

_Dear Misty,  
>Happy Birthday! I know that I was a bit late in sending it to you, but I hope you enjoy the gift. I received the necklace as a gift from a sailor whose daughter I had saved from a terrible storm. The sailor told me the necklace is very special as it can increase the power of water on contact. As soon as he told me this, I thought of you and decided to send it right away! I hope you can make good use of it and take good care of it.<br>Sincerely,  
>Ash<em>  
>Misty turned off the lights to her room as she lay on top of the bed after reading the letter. She began to ache in her heart and a tear slid off her cheek. She was sincerely grateful for the gift and the thought he put into it…but she wanted him to be here with her right now so she could tell him how much she appreciated it in person. She grew even more depressed because she knew that there was no way that she could return to Johto and leave the Gym alone to her sisters; they would cause a mess and surely lose the license to the Gym. Misty looked up at the ceiling and began to slowly drift off into sleep as she thought of Ash…<p>

After three months had passed, the Johto league was getting ready to start. Ash was rapidly gaining popularity throughout Johto since becoming unbeatable; he hadn't even come close to losing. Soon he gained media recognition and he was on many renowned Pokemon magazines quoted to be "the rising champion from Pallet." During the three months in Johto he kept in constant touch with Misty and began to become cocky in his attitude. Every time he would call Misty, he would talk about his battles and always have something new to brag about and each conversation would always end with him being chased away by fan girls. Misty was used to his arrogant attitude by now so she would greet him with a smile and would tell him how proud she was of him. The league was approaching rapidly so on the day before the league they had agreed that she would wait for his call tomorrow.

It was bright and sunny by two o'clock in the afternoon when Misty heard the phone ringing in the distance. She ran to the living room quickly and sat in front of the phone. She picked up the phone,

"Hello, who is this?" though she already had an idea about who it was.

"It's the greatest pokemon trainer alive, that's who," Ash said as he beat his chest with his hand and flexed his other arm for her. Misty shook her head and sighed as she rolled her eyes. Pikachu stood in front of the screen and greeted her with a smile. Misty waved back at him and she looked back at Ash and said with a smile,

"So are you feeling nervous yet, Mr. Pokemon Master?" Ash closed his eyes, puffed out his chest and boasted,

"I don't need to be and you shouldn't either Misty. The trainers here are all pushovers; I'm practically guaranteed that championship title." Misty shook her head in disbelief at Ash's overwhelming cockiness.

"You know what happened last time you got like this Ash. You can't just enter the league and expect to win it without any effort," Misty warned, but Ash was too stubborn to give in.

"Don't worry about me so much; I'll do fine. You can count on it!" he said as he gave Misty the thumbs up. Misty sighed and just then an announcement was made through the loudspeakers on Ash's side,

"WILL ASH KETCHUM AND ROBYN FAIT PLEASE REPORT TO THE ARENA?"

"This is gonna be a piece of cake." He winked at Misty and flashed his Victory sign at her. He said goodbye to Misty and quickly hung up the phone. She turned off the screen and quickly ran to sit on the sofa in the living room. She turned the TV on and called her sisters over to watch the match with her.

Ash began to walk onto the match floor as he was greeted by wild cheers and marriage proposals from crazy fan girls who fainted at the sight of him. It was dark and cloudy, but the forecasters said that there was no chance of rain so the directors of the league decided to let the match continue as scheduled. As Ash climbed up the stairs, he glanced across the field at his challenger.

Robyn was a girl in her teens with a light colored skin tone and long brown hair that reached far past her red t-shirt and black skirt. It flowed elegantly in the strong wind of the now worsening weather. Her light green sunglasses reflected the brilliant flash given off by a lightning bolt crackling off in the distance. She smiled at Ash as she moved her head to get the hair out of her face and she placed her hand firmly on her hip. Ash was unfazed by how confident and strong his competition looked though; he was completely sure that he was going to trounce her. The announcers began to do their routine introduction of the trainers,

"Hello everyone and welcome to another wondrous year of the Johto league!" Everyone began to scream and jump and clap as the ruckus could be heard even over the loud thunderclaps of the storm.

"In this preliminary match we have two very talented trainers willing to show us what many months, maybe even years of training can do to a trainer and their pokemon. First off, we have the elegant and beautiful trainer from Saffron City, Robyn Fait!" She waved coolly to everyone as cheers and whistles from the boys erupted from the audience. "And to the right, we have the unstoppable, unbreakable, and UNBEATABLE Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" At once the stadium erupted into chaos as nearly everyone in the stands screamed and yelled and cheered for Ash as he waved around to everyone, his ego growing by the second.

"Now everyone, if you please, direct your attention to the referee on the match floor!" The referee faced the stands as he began to declare the rules of the match in a booming voice,

"It will be a one on one match, no breaks. Whoever is victorious in this match will qualify for the league and be eligible to receive the championship title." Ash began to day dream about being able to win a championship title after so many long years of training and losing. He would finally be able to take a gigantic step in the direction of accomplishing his lifelong dream of becoming a Pokemon Master once he won the championship…

"Once both sides are ready to begin, the match will begin." The referee looked over to each of them, each one of them responding with a quick nod. "Okay then…BEGIN!"

"Go Pikachu!" Ash said as the electric rodent leapt forward energetically. Robyn smirked and she threw her pokeball towards the arena.

"Go Medicham!" A pink and white Medicham came out of her pokeball and lightning followed by a loud thunderclap sounded off in the distance as she stood menacingly on the plain field. Ash still did not break a sweat though, even as he looked at Pikachu who seemed to be wary of the fact of how well raised Medicham was and backed away a little. Ash thought out his plan and decided that he going to show off his and Pikachu's power by ending the match quickly with one powerful Thunder.

"Pikachu, put all of your energy into this Thunder attack!" Pikachu charged up as Robyn waited for the attack, not ordering Medicham to do anything. He sent off a monstrous Thunder at Medicham and that's when Robyn said in a loud voice,

"Medicham, control that Thunder attack with Psychic!" Ash was confused; there was no way that Medicham could possibly control such a powerful attack. But at that moment Medicham began to focus on the approaching attack and blue energy emitted from her body as she wrapped the Thunder in the same blue light. She struggled as the Thunder continued to approach her quickly, showing no signs of stopping. Suddenly, though, it began to slow down dramatically until it came to a full stop in front of Medicham. Ash's eyes widened in shock and awe at Medicham's power as Robyn yelled out,

"Send the Thunder right back at Pikachu!" Medicham pushed the Thunder attack back using her psychic powers as Pikachu awaited desperately for Ash's response. Ash yelled out for Pikachu to use Agility, but his voice was drowned out by a humongous thunderclap that shook the entire stadium. Pikachu looked back pleadingly at Ash, but before he could order another attack, Pikachu was struck by its own electric attack and he was sent flying backwards while yelling in pain. Pikachu was quivering as sparks ran over his body; something had gone wrong. Robyn observed how Pikachu was behaving as he stood up and she knew that Pikachu must have been afflicted with paralysis so she thought of a plan to take advantage of this.

"Medicham, run up to Pikachu and use a Hi Jump Kick to finish him off!" Medicham began to run towards Pikachu at a quick pace until she jumped high into the air. She extended her knee at high speed and approaching Pikachu. Ash stared in disbelief at the clearly risky strategy then he laughed it off. He knew that Pikachu could easily dodge the attack and Medicham would wind up hurting herself after missing Pikachu. Ash looked up with a smirk on his face and said,

"Alright Pikachu use Agility to dodge it!" But Pikachu remained still, even though by the expression on his face, it was blatant that he was really trying to move. That's when Ash realized that that Pikachu was paralyzed from being hit from his own Thunder attack and Robyn had taken advantage of that. Ash looked on in shock as Pikachu was hit in the face by Medicham's knee and he was sent flying towards the wall as Medicham landed safely on her feet. After the dust of the impact with the wall cleared, Pikachu lay still on the floor and the referee declared Robyn as the winner of the match.

Everything hit Ash suddenly in the gut and his eyes widened as he fell onto his knees then on his hands, feeling sick. Everyone was in complete silence, apparently shocked that the supposed future champion of the Johto league was eliminated in two attacks. Ash continued to stare at the ground shaking a little when he felt a drop of cold rain from the heavens fall on his head. He suddenly lifted himself off the ground and began to look around him with a wide eyed expression.

Everything seemed surreal as everyone in the audience looked back at him. They began to turn in circles, their quiet faces appearing to him in a daze. His senses returned and he immediately felt everyone's eyes on him as he lowered his hat in shame. It was now completely pouring yet the only sound that was made was the patter of the rain striking the ground and the occasional thunder and lightning. Ash sprinted over to Pikachu and picked him up and again he looked around him in a state of delusion mixed with emptiness. No one made a noise as they continued to stare at him. Ash quickly ran through the exit of the stadium as a loud thunderclap sounded off in the distance.

Misty stared at the television screen in shock. She was amazed at the fact that Ash had been eliminated so quickly from the league; she thought he would at least make it through the quarterfinals, but to lose in the preliminaries after training for so long… Misty began to worry about Ash and went to the videophone located in the corner as she frantically dialed the number to his room, not knowing that he would never return again…

It was dark and gloomy and Ash had Pikachu in his arms as he walked through a thick forest located close by the Johto league. He could hear the rain coming down hard and occasionally felt a drop or two as he passed underneath the shielding trees. Off in the distance Ash saw an opening with a murky brown pond which was home to a family of Wooper and Quagsire bathing happily in it. As Ash approached the pond, the pokemon began to move away from him sensing something was disturbing him emotionally. He was completely drenched in water and he kneeled down as he attempted to look at himself in the muddy pond.

He stared at the brown water focusing as hard as he could as the rain drops sent ripples through the water. Slowly an image appeared in it as he fantasized and saw a picture of him kneeled over in the league after just losing, then it switched to an image of everyone's shocked faces as they stared at him, and finally an image of Misty turning to look at him, then lowering her head in shame. His hands shook violently as he began to sob loudly. He struck the water violently as he screamed, scaring off the pokemon gathering around him as the images disappeared from the water.

Ash stood up, breathing heavily with tears coming down his face, burning his eyes and cheeks as they slowly trailed down. He picked up Pikachu who was resting silently and he began to walk into an even darker and thicker part of the forest, vowing to himself to never return to face the judging eyes of the world again…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-The Fall and Rise of a Champion**

Misty slowly walked her bike to the garage of the Gym in Cerulean City as she was deep in thought. The sun had already begun to set when she arrived and the clouds were nowhere in sight as the clear sky was dyed with an assortment of orange, pink, and yellow mixed together into a supernatural palette.

Misty was deeply worried about Ash… One year had passed without any word of his return, only the occasional sighting from people who lived in Johto. Misty was just returning from her search for Ash in Johto after he was declared missing a few months after the league. She remembered the day when the first sighting of Ash had occurred:

_It was a cold and rainy evening when Officer Jenny appeared on the front step of Ash's house. She was in a completely soaked black raincoat, in Pallet Town to deliver terrible news. His mother, Tracey, Professor Oak, Brock, and Misty were all gathered in the living room in silence as Jenny declared that Ash was nowhere to be found. He would be declared missing._

_Reports and television broadcasts and posters of Ash had already been set up throughout the region of Johto as there was a strong possibility that he was still wandering somewhere inside. After Delia had offered Jenny some tea, Jenny received a call on her walkie-talkie. Apparently, some locals near Azalea Town had spotted a young man in the Ilex Forest similar to the description in the Missing Posters around town. Once Misty heard this, she was determined that she would go to Johto to look for Ash and vowed to herself that she was going to go tomorrow and not return until she found him…_

Since Misty's sisters understood her motives, they agreed that they would try their hardest at keeping the Gym in working condition, but it soon became too overwhelming for them. Misty had to return to keep it in order after she spent nine months in Johto. She sighed from exhaustion as she turned the lock to the front door of the Gym and entered.

All the lights were completely off and it looked like no one was home. Misty dropped her backpack on the couch and began to walk towards her room when she heard a giggle coming from upstairs. Misty paused and stood still as she focused her hearing. She didn't hear anything else so she began to walk to her room when she heard yet another sound, this time a male's voice.

By this time, Misty was very suspicious so she began to walk up the dark staircase that led to her sisters' room trying to keep as quiet as she could. She tiptoed towards Daisy's room where the door was wide open with the light turned on as more giggles came from inside the room. She turned her head slightly and peeked inside Daisy's room.

Lying under sheets was Daisy and Tracey, kissing each other on the lips while embracing each other. Misty gasped out loud in shock. Daisy instantly stopped and turned to look at Misty. They both looked at each other with wide-eyed expressions as the room was encompassed in an awkward silence. Misty turned around slowly and headed towards her room trying to force out the image of her half-naked friend making out with her sister. She opened the door to her bedroom and climbed into bed.

It was another dark and gloomy afternoon as Misty and her sisters stayed inside the Gym, occupying themselves with whatever they could find to do. Misty was busily massaging the back of her newfound Quagsire. She had caught and trained a Wooper while she was traveling in Johto and it had evolved in her travels. She stopped when she heard a knock on the door.

Misty looked at her sisters who signaled for her to get it and then she looked at the door. She walked up to it, thinking it was a trainer waiting to challenge her, but when she opened the door, a young man with a Pikachu on his shoulder stood in front of her as he swayed from side to side dizzily.

Misty stood in absolute shock as she looked at Ash standing before her. He was completely covered in dirt and his clothes were torn and in shambles. He smelled horrible and his face was grimy, giving off the impression that he hadn't bathed in weeks. He was very thin and did not have the same muscle tone that he used to have before he left the Gym.

Misty had not moved, completely shocked at how much Ash had changed physically as he stood before her with his dirty hat covering his eyes as he continued to stand there without a word. He looked up suddenly and looked Misty in the eyes as he flashed her a smile; then he fell forwards onto Misty as she caught him in her arms. Tears fell down her face as he leaned heavily on Misty without moving or saying anything. She held onto him tightly in her arms. Shortly after, Misty called her sisters over to help her and closed the front door with Pikachu entering right behind her.

In the first aid room, Lily was treating Ash as he lay on the bed peacefully resting from his long journey. Misty looked over him with a worried expression as she played with Pikachu's ear nervously. Ash was out for at least two hours by now and Misty began to worry desperately even though Lily reassured her countless times that he was alright. Ash slowly opened his eyes and he glanced over at Misty. She looked at him with a mixture of shock and relief in her eyes and she immediately grabbed him in a tender hug. Ash groaned out loud and Lily scolded her,

"Ash is still too weak from the journey! Give him some time and he'll be up and ready. For now, just give him some space and plenty of rest…" Misty's eyes were watering, but she shook it off and gave Ash a brave smile. He rested comfortably in the bed and drifted off into a deep sleep.

After two weeks and some change of resting, Ash was back on his feet and ready to go back home with a new found enthusiasm that he hadn't felt in ages. Misty was still skeptical of whether or not he should be traveling right now so she was trying to convince him to stay longer. They were outside of the Gym to get some fresh air as Ash stretched leisurely in the warm sun. It was a beautiful climate; not too cold yet not too hot…. It was perfect traveling weather; he said so to Misty and she looked back at him with doubt.

"Ash, I don't think you should be traveling; you just got out of bed and now you're going to throw yourself to the road again? You need to rest and relax and spend some more time-"

"Jeez Misty, you nag more than an old woman!" Ash said as he smiled at her. Misty became furious and was about to smack him over the head when he braced himself. She thought to herself,

"_I can't hit him… He's just started to recover and that could really put him in more danger…_" She lowered her hand and looked at him with a caring smile. Ash returned it and they both looked at each other in the eyes, rekindling their old friendship.

"So I guess that means you're not mad at me for running away then right?"

"Wrong Ash Ketchum, you know how many months I had to endure waiting and looking for you? You had me worried sick." He grinned playfully,

"If you missed me that much you should've told me and I would have come running back!" She whipped out her mallet and he sprinted the other way as she chased after him into town.

They arrived inside the Center and Misty was about to hit Ash over the head with her mallet. She suddenly realized that everyone was staring at her after cornering Ash against the counter. She hid the mallet behind her with an embarrassed smile. Ash stood up straight looking smug.

"You do care for me after all!" She stomped on his foot and blushed as a few people who were looking at them either snickered or sighed with an "Awww…" Ash grabbed his foot in pain and began to hop around on one foot as Misty went to the front desk to go pick up his pokemon. Ash appeared behind her with fire in his eyes and they locked eyes and prepared for another one of their countless fights.

After the brief argument erupted between them in the Pokemon Center, Ash and Misty returned to the Cerulean Gym after a long day of walking through town. He conceded to Misty and was going to stay one more day in Cerulean City. It was another clear moonlit night similar to the one they had before Ash left to the Johto region alone. and Misty was getting Ash's bed ready in her room. Meanwhile he was gazing outside of the window at the full moon, reflecting on his last moments in Johto:

[I]He was walking through a heavily wooded area as the moon began to rise, signaling the start of the night. The sky had changed colors and was now a deep black with the stars dotted throughout the sky. The night was the brightest he had ever seen; they were nowhere near any cities and its artificial lights.

He was about to cross the road that split the forest in half when he spotted a familiar girl with red hair walking down the road. She was holding onto her backpack spiritlessly as she trudged down the road in solitude.

He quickly hid behind a thick tree as Misty got closer. Pikachu began to protest, but Ash quieted him by covering his mouth. He did not want to be discovered by Misty just yet, so he watched her as she passed right in front of them. She stopped as soon as she was in front of the very tree that he was hiding behind and she turned her head to look at in their direction. Suddenly, her backpack began to ring and she reached behind her and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" he heard her say. He couldn't make out who the person was that she was speaking to or what they were saying, but from Misty's facial expression, it was definitely bad news. She hung up angrily and threw the phone at the ground as she burst into tears. Ash's grip around Pikachu's mouth loosened as he looked at her with an aching feeling in his heart. He couldn't stand to see her cry so he turned around and began to walk away from her when he heard her speak out to him.

"Well Ash, I guess I'll see you later." She wiped her nose with her arm as tears continued to run down her face. He turned around shocked that she had spotted him behind the tree and was about to answer her when she began to speak again.

"I wasn't able to find you and I don't think I ever will be able to because of my dumb sisters..." Ash was confused at this statement and he peeked from behind a nearby bush. She was looking up at the sky as her arms were wrapped around her tightly with the necklace that he had given her sparkling in the majestic night. He continued to look at her as she began to speak again,

"I just hope that you'll be able to find your way back so I can see you once again because I…" Her voice trailed off as more tears began to run down her face and she turned to look at the ground. She was deep in thought and was motionless for a moment as the tears slid down her face. She turned around suddenly and began to walk back down the road. Her feet dragged against the floor as she walked off into the distance until she was out of eye sight.

Ash moved forwards to the middle of the road to where she was standing. On the dusty ground, fresh tiny wet spots of water were scattered. He looked at them sadly then at Pikachu who was looking towards the end of the road of where Misty had disappeared off to. He smiled at Pikachu as his best friend turned to look at him with a determined look. It was then that Ash understood that it was now time to return home. There were more important things than to feel sorry for himself and so he began his long and impending journey back to Kanto in which he never stopped to take a break…

He began to focus back to the present and he saw Misty's reflection staring back at him, in her yellow pajamas. With her hand on her hip, the necklace dangled around her neck as she waited for him to turn around. The two weeks rest had done him good and he flashed her a charming grin as their eyes met. She looked away embarrassedly and he climbed into the bed opposite hers across her room. She turned off the light to her room and stopped in front of his bed.

"Goodnight Ash," she said as she playfully flicked his nose.

"Oww!" He grabbed his nose in pain and he turned to look at her and smiled as she climbed into her bed. "Goodnight Misty…"

In the breaking hours of the morning, it was calm and serene throughout Cerulean City as a couple of Pidgey roosted comfortably on the tree outside of Misty's window, taking in the warm rays of the sun. Suddenly, Daisy burst through the door scaring the Pidgey off from the tree as she looked at Ash and Misty with a nervous look on her face. They both awoke quickly from fright and stared at Daisy as she sighed in relief when saw that they were in separate beds.

"What's the matter with you, bursting through my door like that?" Misty said.

"I _told_ you before that you should always leave the door open if you two are going to sleep in the same room; I don't trust you guys…" she said as she suspiciously eyed them.

"Oh, grow up," Misty said as she turned to go back to sleep. She grabbed her blanket and pulled it over her face as Daisy scoffed and exited the room without closing the door.

Everyone was sitting at the breakfast table eating pancakes when Daisy arrived from the living room after talking on the phone in a bright and cheery mood.

"This looks delicious! Who cooked it?" Daisy asked. Misty silently pointed to Violet as she received the compliment with a smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Misty said still annoyed from Daisy's early wake up call.

"Nothing at all, why do you ask?" Daisy lied, still in her unusually cheery tone. Misty looked at her suspiciously as she tried to read what Daisy was hiding. Daisy avoided her eyes and looked at everyone else at the table as they ate. A sly grin spread across Misty's face as she discovered who her mystery caller was.

After they had finished breakfast, Ash was sitting on the cream colored leather couches in the living room waiting for Misty with Pikachu by his side. They both looked towards the staircase as Misty began to come down the stairs. Just then the phone began to ring and Daisy sprinted from her room all the way to the phone in the living room like a madman, disregarding anything that stood in her way as she knocked Misty down the stairs.

Ash went to go to help Misty up, but Misty sprang onto her feet with fire blazing in her eyes as she began to walk towards Daisy. She was happily chatting with someone on the phone when Misty took the phone out of her hands and slammed it on the receiver. Daisy immediately got up out of her chair.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. They both looked each other square in the eyes and a spark appeared between them as they prepared to square off.

"THAT"S WHAT YOU GET FOR KNOCKING ME DOWN THE STAIRS! WERE YOU IN SUCH A RUSH TO TALK TO TRACEY THAT YOU COULDN'T SEE ME?" Misty screamed. Daisy was taken aback at how Misty knew that it _was_ Tracey who was calling, but she quickly snapped back,

"WHO SAID THAT IT WAS TRACEY? IT COULD HAVE BEE-"

"BECAUSE IT'S SO OBVIOUS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SOMETHING TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY AFTER WHAT I SAW YOU TWO DOING IN YOUR ROOM!" Misty said fuming. Daisy was shocked and then she began to shake uncontrollably throughout her body as she clenched her hands so tightly that they turned red. That's when Misty knew that she had made a _big_ mistake. She turned around as Daisy began to say in a quiet and restrained voice,

"You promised you wouldn't TELL ANYBODY!" Daisy began to scream at the top of her voice as Misty grabbed her backpack quickly and signaled for Ash to leave the Gym immediately as she made a run for it. He looked at her with a puzzled look and Misty began to explain quickly,

"Well you know how you always say that I have a bad temper? Well all I have to say about Daisy is she's ten times worse! We have to leave right now…" Just then Daisy appeared from the living room with a look of rage on her face as she held a vase of flowers in her hand. Misty quickly took Ash by the arm and they exited through the front door as Daisy chucked the vase at the closed door.

They both looked back as she opened the door abruptly and they began to sprint down the road, never looking back. Daisy wasn't going to let them get away that easily; she picked up a decent sized rock and chucked it at them. It hit Ash in the back of the head at high speed and he merely rubbed it off, seemingly unaffected by the deadly blow. Misty looked back at him in shock and he said with a laugh,

"I guess I've had so many hits on the head that the smaller ones don't seem to affect me as much!" They both laughed and continued to sprint towards the road to Pallet Town as Daisy stopped chasing them, but could still be heard screaming obscenities at them.

During their walk towards Pallet Town, they began to talk about the first time they traveled to the Johto league. As they walked in silence for a moment, Misty broke it with a sudden question,

"Why did you run away from the league after you lost?" Ash looked at her taken aback at the directness of the question, but he looked at the ground in shame and he hesitantly replied,

"Well…because, I guess it was because… I was ashamed to see everyone after bragging so much and losing so suddenly. I felt like such an idiot and I didn't want to face anyone just so they could tell me how sorry they were. Most of all though, I disappointed you guys…and myself." Misty looked at him with sympathy, but she said in a reassuring voice,

"You shouldn't be ashamed Ash… We're your friends and we'll treat you the same way no matter what." He looked at her as she looked at him with a consoling smile. He smiled back, but turned away and remained unconvinced. Misty smiled knowingly at his expression and she said,

"Well if you _must_ know, the person you lost to actually became the future champion of the league…" He turned and looked at her with a shocked look. She simply nodded, assuring him that it was the truth and he smiled as he looked at Pikachu who was on his shoulder. They continued their walk to Pallet Town as the sun continued to shine brightly over their heads lighting their way to Ash's hometown.

After Delia had finished cleaning her room, she began to walk downstairs when she passed in front of Ash's room. It was quiet and abandoned and everything was kept neatly as it was. She was used to seeing his room empty like this, but her heart ached as she knew that he wasn't safely off on another journey to become a pokemon master. No, he was wandering aimlessly throughout Johto with no mission in mind and no care for the world around him, like a wandering spirit in the human realm.

She wiped away a tear as she made her way down the stairs. As she headed towards the kitchen, she heard a light knock on the door. She went to answer the door, wondering who could be visiting her. She opened the door slowly and right before her was Ash with Pikachu on his shoulder and Misty standing right behind him. He extended his arms widely as he spoke in a quiet voice,

"Mom…" His eyes glistened from the tears that were forming in his eyes and she couldn't believe that it was true.

"My, my baby!" She leapt forward and hugged Ash tightly as tears ran down her cheek. He was very happy to be in his mother's arms again after such a long time away and embraced her silently. Misty stood far away from them, trying not to spoil the beautiful moment between mother and son.

"I'm so glad that you're back safe and sound from Johto, Ash," Delia said with a great relief in her voice as she wiped away at her eyes. They were now sitting down in the living room as Mr. Mime prepared their tea in the kitchen.

"When Misty said that she was going to Johto to look for you, I was sure that she was going to find you… But once I heard that she had to return again and she hadn't found you, I, I don't know what went through my head…" More tears fell from her eyes and Ash stood up to hand her a napkin. Misty sat across from them keeping quiet when she heard a knock on the door.

"I'll go get that," Misty said as she stood from the couch. She opened the door and standing right in front of her was Tracey.

"Hey Tracey!" Misty said greeting her friend with a wide smile.

"How's it going? I heard from your sister-" Misty cringed as she thought about the scene in Daisy's room a couple of nights ago, "-that you were coming here with Ash! Is it true?" Tracey said. Misty nodded and told him to come in. He walked inside as Misty closed the door behind her and he walked into the living room and saw Ash sitting by his mother. Ash instantly smiled and he stood up and greeted Tracey as they shook hands.

"How's everything in the lab?" Ash asked looking across at Tracey as he sat down on the couch beside his mother; Misty in the meanwhile helped Mr. Mime with the tea.

"Very good, all your pokemon are healthy and I can tell they all miss you a lot! We should go visit the lab after you're done here. The professor discovered something that I think you will like," Tracey said as Misty carried a tray full of steaming hot tea cups, one for each of them.

"I think we'll go as soon as we're done drinking tea," Misty said as she sat down after giving everyone a hot cup.

"And miss lunch? No way!" Ash said as he looked at his mom with a smile. She smiled back and walked to the kitchen to prepare a big meal for them as they began to talk to each other about their experiences over the past couple of months…

Ash, Misty, Tracey, and Delia began to walk towards Professor Oak's Lab after a huge lunch. Misty smirked over at Tracey who was walking at least ten feet from her. He had let slip out a secret while they were talking in the living room. During her search for Ash, he had been visiting Cerulean Gym very often. Because of his time in Cerulean, Daisy and Tracey got very close and soon started a relationship together, but they had kept it a secret from her sisters.

"_That is until now…_" Misty thought with a devilish grin, knowing she had some leverage on Daisy now.

They had climbed up the small hill that led up to Professor Oak's Lab and now they were waiting on the front door for the professor to answer. He walked outside and he was a bit overwhelmed at the group standing in front of him.

"Well now, it's great to see that you've returned Ash!" he said as he noticed a very eager Ash standing right in front of him.

"It's great to _be_ back Professor! I heard that you have some very important news for me?" Ash said, curious to hear what the professor had in store for him.

"Before we get into that I'm sure you'd want to see your pokemon right? They've missed you quite a bit," the professor said as he petted Pikachu on the head with a wide smile. Ash's eyes widened in excitement,

"Oh yeah of course! Where are they?"

Misty was outside sitting on a bench in the backyard as Ash stayed inside the lab to talk to the professor after an emotional reunion with all of his pokemon. She laid her head on the white wall of the lab as she sat back. She relaxed as the sun shone warmly on her face from its highest point in the sky.

Ash's Totodile recognized her as he walked past her and he leaped happily in the air as he began running towards her at full speed. He was about to reach her when he tripped on a rock and bit her on the leg. She yelled in pain as she woke up from her daydream and Totodile began to apologize, but Misty simply smiled as she began to rub Totodile's head with her hand. He perked up and laughed as Misty began to tickle him. She was laughing out loud when she suddenly heard Ash's voice,

"So Professor Oak, what was the urgent news you had for me?" It came from the open window above the rosebushes and she quickly peeked in. Ash and Pikachu were looking at Professor Oak as the professor's back was turned to them, looking around for something in the vast cabinets in his lab.

"Ah, here it is!" Professor Oak said as he lifted up a tiny disk. He inserted it into the disk drive of the big screen computer in his lab. As it began to read the disk, Ash looked outside the window. He admired the tranquility of the scenery as the wind blew through the tall trees located throughout the ranch; he wasn't aware that Misty was hiding right underneath that very window, while using her hand to keep Totodile quiet.

"Have you ever heard of the Muntein region?" Professor Oak asked as the computer screen turned black, loading the disc's data. Ash was sucked out of his daydream and he looked back at the Professor with a puzzled look.

"No, why?" The screen suddenly flashed a bright white as a female voice coming from the computer said "Greetings Professor Oak."

"Well I hadn't either before this disk came to me through the mail," Professor Oak said and he turned to the computer as a menu appeared on screen. He selected one that was labeled as: "Muntein" and it began to show an overhead map of an island that lay to the far northeast of the world. It had four different mountains, each surrounding a piece of land in the middle of the island. Around Muntein was a ring of craggy rocks that created a natural barrier shutting the island off from the land and sea.

Starting clockwise on the bottom left of the island was a green region with a small mountain covered in trees; in bold black letters this region was labeled as Mt. Evergreen. To the right of that region was a barren field of rocks with a great lake in the middle of it. This region and its mountain were labeled as Mt. Minera; it also appeared that this mountain was part of a range of tiny mountains exclusive to the southeast corner.

To the north of the rock region was a black volcano that boiled with lava; the landscapes around it were varied, from a desert that lay to the left of the region to a tropical jungle on the northeast coast of the region. This section of Muntein was labeled as Mt. Therma. Finally, to the left of the volcanic region was a white and icy land, with a small pine forest and the highest mountain of Muntein labeled as Mt. Glacier. Ash looked on in amazement and then he turned to the professor with a question in mind,

"What does this have to do with me?" The professor smiled and he turned back and opened a desk cabinet pulling out a red rectangular object but he placed it in his pocket.

"Recently a group of construction workers have braved the fast currents that divide the mainland of Turbane, which lies to the far north of Johto, to the secluded island of Muntein. You see this island used to be a giant volcano that was still part of Turbane many years ago, connected only by a small piece of land. But thousands of years ago, it erupted with a great explosion that not only shattered the volcano into five islands, but changed the climates of the four largest regions." Professor Oak continued,

"The explosion had effectively cut off the islands from the mainland. The ring of rocks around the island which used to serve as the base of the volcano, created a massive wall-"

"Kind of like the Whirl Islands in Johto!" Ash said. Professor Oak was surprised and then smiled,

"Very astute Ash! The waters of its sea are also some of the worst in the ocean like its Johto counterpart's. The difference between the two though, is that it is also home to some of the most dangerous winds in existence, proving it impossible for air travel." Professor Oak was beginning to ramble.

"But what does all of this have to do with _me_?" Ash asked again, getting impatient.

"Hmm? Oh right! Well after this team constructed an underwater tunnel through the fast currents they eventually buried into the ground of Muntein; then an astonishing discovery was made! It turns out that this region has pokemon that are specific only to it!" Ash's eyes widened at the possibility of new pokemon waiting for him to catch and see.

"That is why I want you to travel there to collect data on these mysterious pokemon. There is also a pokemon league similar to ours there. To participate in it you will be going to the 12 Gyms located throughout the whole region. Because of this challenging and possibly dangerous rough terrain, all the trainers must have a special invitation to enter the Muntein league. These invitations came in the form as a Magnet Train Pass from Johto." He began to search yet again for something that was kept in his cabinets.

"Wow that's great Professor Oak! It must be pretty tough to live there so I'm sure the Trainers there we'll be _really_ good!" Ash said with enthusiasm now. Misty continued to eavesdrop from outside as she peered from the window, completely amazed yet saddened by the fact that a new region was discovered. She knew that Ash would be going and also that there was no way that she could go with him. Not as long as the Gym kept her tied down…

"Why, yes, of course! The natives who live there have had to adjust to the subtle climate changes over generations of living there. I'm sure they'll pose quite a challenge." The professor found the two gold bordered white tickets and pulled out the red mystery object from his pocket. He handed them both to Ash and spoke,

"This is an upgraded Pokedex; it will be able to give you detailed information on the new pokemon of the region." Ash looked at the new Pokedex as he tried to open it. He pushed a button on the Pokedex's cover and it quickly parted it in two, revealing a big black screen taking up the top half of the Pokedex with an assortment of buttons that took up the bottom half of it.

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town; age 18; 5'6", 165 pounds with black hair and dark brown eyes," said the robotic female voice coming from the tiny speaker that lay in the back of the Pokedex.

"The two tickets I gave you are your only way of entering Muntein. I was only permitted two from the league officials who sent me the disk and… I was originally going to give the other ticket to Gary; but he said he was too busy working on his pokemon research so I decided to let you decide who was going with you," the professor said.

Ash immediately smiled and he already had a specific person in mind as Misty looked from the window wondering who Ash could be thinking of giving the ticket to.

"Don't lose them or else you'll miss out on this once in-a-lifetime opportunity!" The professor was stern to Ash. He smiled and assured Professor Oak that he would take great care of them. He thanked him and quickly exited the lab as Misty ducked out of sight from the window.

"Misty, where are you?"

It was late in the afternoon once Ash got out of the lab. He paused when he heard a rustling noise and he glanced at the nearby window. He saw her by the tip of her ponytail, the rest of her body was hidden by the rosebushes. He opened the colorful bushes and revealed Misty and Totodile.

"What's up Misty?" Ash said with a grin.

"Hi Ash." She was avoiding his gaze though and it confused Ash, but he continued regardless.

"The professor told me all about this new region and I'm going to travel there. The thing is you can only get there by using the Magnet Train and he gave me two tickets to ride. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me…" he said smiling as he looked to her. She was still looking directly at the bushes to the side of her.

"I can't go Ash… I have to take care of the Gym… You know that…" She began to hurt in her heart as she said this.

"C'mon Misty there must be something you could do to leave!" She gasped and grimaced at the thought. But she kept silent and still looked away. His expression was serious as he stared back.

"At least _say_ something Misty!"

"How long do you have until you leave?" Misty said with sadness in her voice.

"Probably a week …Why?" he asked.

"I'll give you my answer then. For now let's just enjoy our stay here." She stood up and smiled weakly at him and he sighed.

"Alright Misty, but I want you to know that I really want you to go with me…" He smiled as he extended his hands to help her out of the rosebush. She blushed intensely as they held hands and she lifted her leg to avoid the thorns. Once they were finally face to face with each other Misty looked at him curiously.

"Think of all the new pokemon we could see!" She laughed half-heartedly,

"Yes Ash, that would be nice…" They started the walk back to his house. The entire time, Ash had tried to start up conversation but she was deep in thought. The moon beamed above her, signaling the beginning of the midnight where the craziest of ideas are manifested into thoughts…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this site so I not sure how it works around here, but I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews! I do read them all and it's great to hear that you enjoy it so much. ^_^

**Chapter 7-The Plan**

Ash awoke the next morning with a gentle breeze running around the room. The curtains moved delicately from the window as Ash got out of bed and stretched. He gazed outside at the calm and tranquil day then looked at Pikachu. He was curled up comfortably as he slept at the edge of the bed. He shook him and Pikachu got up slowly and greeted him with a smile. Ash greeted him back and he put on some jeans so he could go downstairs for breakfast.

During the night, Misty stayed downstairs because he knew his mother would have a heart attack if they slept in the same room. He climbed down the stairs and he was greeted by the delicious smell of cooked bacon and fried eggs. A smile spread across his face as he entered the dining room. Misty was waiting for the food to be served as she sat on the table playing around with a fork in her hand.

"So I see that you decided to give up cooking?" Ash said as he sat in the chair right across from her. Misty looked up at him, apparently having just noticed him.

"Yeah, I didn't want to get in your mom's way so I decided I would sit this one out," she said with a faint smile as she tapped the fork on the table. She was still thinking about last night and for a way she could go with him to Muntein. She had a plan already, but it was her last resort and she was trying to come up with other plans first.

"Good thing! I wasn't looking forward to putting out a kitchen fire if you were going to cook," he said. Misty kicked him in the shin underneath the table. He winced in pain as he grabbed his leg and Misty smiled mischievously. Just then Delia came in with two steaming plates of food as she said,

"Dig in you two! I hope you like it!" They both looked at the deliciously cooked meal and thanked her quickly as they began to eat.

After breakfast, they both went outside to get some fresh air. The sky was clear blue and other than a few white clouds, it looked like it was going to be a perfect day. Misty looked over at Ash as he walked through the front door. He had a dark blue t-shirt on with a red stripe that ran across his chest. He had on a new hat that was red in color with a white arc shaped stripe on the front with a black pokeball design in the middle of it and a similar, but smaller pokeball design on the back of his hat. He had on blue shorts that barely ran past his knee with black and white sneakers on his feet. He had his bare hands behind his head as he looked up to the sky, dazing off. She nudged him in the side playfully with her elbow and she said with a wink,

"Since it's such a beautiful day why don't you show me around Pallet Town?" He looked over at her and nodded in agreement. She was dressed in a white t-shirt with her signature blue short shorts on her. Her hair was worn up in a ponytail and he looked at the necklace that he had given her as a present which she seemed to never take off. He smiled back at her then waited for Pikachu to come join them; they left for the small town on the dirt road.

He showed Misty the restaurants, the clothing stores (which he regretted as they wound up staying for three hours even though she didn't buy anything…), and the park. They were reaching the end of the dirt road and it was now about 4 o'clock as the sun shone high above their heads. The wind blew gently from the north as they headed to a big clearing at the beginning of a big forest.

In front of the small park was a big wooden sign that hung over the entrance that read: "Pallet Park." The park was a vibrantly green circle that stood at the entrance of a deep forest that lay close to Pallet. It was completely flat with the exception of a mound of grass that stood directly in the middle of the park; a small tree in the middle cast a shade on the mound. The park was completely empty, due to the fact that it was lunchtime. He explained that everyone in Pallet Town were big eaters just like him and she grinned. They approached the mound in the middle of the park and Ash laid down on it as he looked up at the sky.

"This is what I used to do all the time when I was younger after I stopped hanging around with Gary. I would go to this park, sit back and relax and watch the day go by…" he said dreamily as his eyes glazed. She lay right next to him and she used her arms to support the back of her head. It was completely silent and everything moved slowly: the clouds, the sun, the trees in the wind…

Misty felt herself dozing off so she turned to Ash. His eyes were hidden under his cap, but she could tell that he was taking a nap. She was tempted to crawl up next to him and sleep by his side, but their time apart had caused them to lose a little of that closeness they had before.

Instead of thinking about him she began to think about her plan of how she could join him on his journey. She would have to make a few a phone calls and upset a few people, but by now she had her mind set. She knew that if she wanted to go on this journey, she was going to be making a big sacrifice.

They had returned home during the late night. His mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner as Ash closed the door behind him with Pikachu on his shoulder. Misty climbed up the stairs quickly to use the bathroom. He went into the living room and lied back on the couch and turned the television on. As he flicked through the channels to look for something to watch, Misty walked down the stairs and asked his mom if she could use the phone. After his mother's approval, she went to the videophone that was in the living room in a corner beside the television.

She began dialing a number and Ash's curiosity began to spark. He raised his head to get a good look at who she was calling, but because it was hidden behind the TV, he couldn't get a good look… She greeted the person in a low voice and the whole time she was speaking on the phone, she spoke only in quiet tones. After she had hung up, she seemed a little shaken up. Ash was very curious by now as to what was bothering Misty and who she had called. She stood up from the chair and Ash stood up as well as Pikachu stayed sleeping on the couch. He approached her as she made her way to the stairs, wearing an expression of utter disbelief on her face.

"Who were you speaking to?" Ash asked as he blocked her from going up the stairs.

"N-No one in particular…" she said as her hand fidgeted with her shirt.

"Then why are you acting so nervous?" Ash asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Ash… Can you please let me go upstairs, I need to use the bathroom…" Misty said while trying to walk past him. He still didn't move though.

"I thought you just used the bathroom Misty…" She pushed him out of the way and ran quickly up the stairs, closing the bathroom door hard. Now his suspicions were only worse; the curiosity was eating away at him like a parasite.

"Dinner's ready!" Delia said in a cheery ringing voice as she called Ash from the kitchen, disrupting his train of thought.

"Ok Mom…" He slowly walked towards the kitchen as he continued to stare at the staircase.

"Won't Misty be joining us dear?" Delia asked with curiosity.

"She said she had to use the bathroom," he replied while taking a seat at the table. Pikachu looked up at the stairs with worry, mirroring his thoughts.

"I hope she's feeling okay." Ash nodded,

"Yeah, me too…"

During the whole week, Ash and Misty spent most of their time outside, exploring Pallet Town as Ash recounted his old memories to her. They would arrive home very late in the evening to eat dinner and Ash would always sit on the couch to watch TV to catch up on the latest pokemon news. Misty would also make the same mysterious phone call every night.

She would talk quietly as Ash would try to listen in on the conversation, but he never seemed to be able to understand her no matter how close to her he was. And always at the end of every phone call, Misty would be quiet for the rest of the evening. Even when he would confront her and ask her what she was so sad about, she'd always smile and tell him nothing. He eventually gave up trying to force the answer out of her, but he remained quiet whenever she would make her phone call; listening hard, trying to discover who it was she was calling…

The week quickly passed and the day had arrived when Ash would leave on his journey to Muntein. He was first going to visit Brock, partly because it was a while since he last saw his old friend and partly because he wanted to see if he was going to go with him…since Misty had told him she wasn't going to with him to Muntein. The disappointment still stung in his heart but he respected her decision.

After seeing Brock, he was planning on heading straight to Johto so Ash was packing up everything he would need for his big journey. After he finished he walked outside as his mom and Misty walked along with him. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and he turned to face his mom and Misty as they looked at each other quietly.

"I have to go to back to Cerulean City so do you think I can go with you?" Misty asked him as the sun shone from high in the sky in front of her.

"Sure," Ash replied with a smile. He then turned to his mom, "Alright, Mom, I have to go now…"

She sighed, but she knew that it was eventually going to happen and by now she was used to it so she gave him a good luck hug and told him to take care of himself and that he should call every once in a while just to check up. He simply nodded and said goodbye as he turned around and began to walk down the road with Misty by his side. They waved back at his mother with wide smiles on their faces. She waved back and saw them off as they walked down the long dirt road to their destination…

During the walk to Pewter City, they passed in front of the lake in which she had fished him out of. Ash was walking closely by the shore which lay to his left with Misty walking by his right side. She smiled as she remembered the first time in which she had first met him. She looked at him to see if he had noticed this as well, but he continued to walk along as if nothing was happening. She was a bit mad that he hadn't noticed, but she decided to try and see if he recognized the lake.

"This sure is a beautiful day isn't it? The warm sun, the calm wind, the beautiful _lake_…" Misty said. He merely looked around and smiled in approval. She frowned and tried again,

"There is just something strange about that lake… You know as if I had _seen it_ somewhere _before_," she said hinting at the lake yet again. He looked at the lake with a vague hint of curiosity and then he looked back at her. Misty stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"If you say so…" he said as he turned to look forward on the road. Misty sighed in exasperation, amazed at Ash's denseness.

"What's the matter?" he asked as he looked at her. She didn't answer and instead shoved him into the lake with one hand. He fell into the chilly waters and was shivering as soon as he surfaced.

"W-what d-did you do th-that for?" he said annoyed at Misty. She continued to walk on, so frustrated with him that she ignored him. He looked at her sourly,

"Who can understand her?" he muttered to himself as he climbed out of the water of the lake in which their lives had been intertwined.

They approached a fork in the road that divided it into to two paths: one that lead to Pewter City and the other lead to Cerulean City. They stopped at the fork and they each faced each other. The sun was quickly coming down in between them and they looked at each other, embedding the other's image into their mind.

"I have to go back to the Gym, but you're going to visit me again before you leave right?" she said looking him straight in the eyes with a small grin. He smiled back at her,

"Sure Misty, no problem. Brock will probably be with me by then so you can say goodbye to him too. It'll be just like old times," he said with a wink. She smiled widely and nodded her head. She didn't want him to leave, but if her plan was going to succeed, she needed all the extra time that she could get…

He sighed as he began to turn around. She stepped forward to him to give him a hug, but she stopped herself. He faced the road to Pewter City without noticing her and she stepped back, staying still as he walked down the road. She then turned around to go to Cerulean City after watching him disappear behind the hilly road. What Ash didn't know was that Misty's plan was already in effect and he would be in for a rude awakening once he came back to Cerulean…

Two days later, Ash was already on the road to Cerulean City. He had invited Brock along to the journey after their reunion, but he surprisingly turned it down. Brock simply said it was because he had to take care of his siblings now that his parents were gone. They had left for vacation, leaving Brock to care of all of his siblings, much to Ash's dismay.

At least, that's what Brock had _told_Ash when he was in Pewter. In reality, Brock's parents were still in Pewter City and they weren't planning on leaving any time soon…

_Brock waved goodbye to his old friend as he began his voyage back to Cerulean City. After Ash was out of sight, Brock entered the Gym to make an important phone call. From the videophone in the main lobby, an old man looking identical to Brock down to his squinty eyes, appeared on the screen and greeted him._

Brock told him that Ash was gone and it was safe to come back to the house. His father Flint smiled happily and said he would be returning shortly and he hung up. Brock turned off the screen and dialed Misty's phone number. Her image appeared on the screen and she greeted Brock warmly.

"So what did he say Brock?" she asked, her curiosity eating away at her.

"Well he wasn't happy, but he accepted it so he's on his way there now," her spiky haired friend replied.

"That's great it's going just as I planned then!"

"What's this plan of yours anyway, you keep mentioning it but you haven't explained it to me yet." She hesitated and looked uneasy.

"Alright I'll tell you Brock, but it might shock you…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
>It was cool and getting darker as the afternoon was coming to a close. The orange sun readied itself to crawl back into the horizon as Ash reached the hill that overlooked Cerulean City. He stopped for a moment to observe the surroundings. He continued to walk towards the center of town with Pikachu walking beside him. As they began to get closer to the Gym, he could see a huge crowd gathered around it. Ash looked on curiously and he got closer to the crowd.<p>

He pushed his way through until he got to the front where it was blocked off by a metal guard rail to prevent anybody from getting any closer. There was a big opening that separated the crowd and the Gym and in this gap was Misty and her sisters gathered in front of it with sad and serious expressions on each of their faces.

"_What's going on?_" Ash wondered as he looked at them; meanwhile the crowd was complaining loudly at him for pushing his way through.

"Hey Misty!" he yelled loud enough so he could be heard over the noise of the crowd. She looked back at him slowly and saw him waving his hands in the air. She signaled to the police officers controlling the crowd to let him through and they nodded as they went to let him in. They opened the rail just enough so he could pass through and the crowd began to protest.

"Who's the loser in the red cap?" one of the guys in the front said. Ash turned to look at the guy,

"Who are you calling a loser?" Misty placed her hand on his arm and held him back,

"He's my friend so mind your own business!" The guy sneered as he nudged the guy next to him,

"I think he's more than just a friend if you know what I mean!" He burst out into laughter along with a few people who giggled along with him. She blushed in embarrassment and turned away from them as they shouted and jeered at the two of them. Ash walked right beside her and asked with concern,

"What's happening here?" She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as she couldn't find the words to describe the situation. She lowered her head but faintly smiled for him. He was confused by now and turned to ask her sisters what was happening when a large truck came barreling down the road and stopped in front of the crowd.

It honked impatiently at them to move and so the police began to part the crowd to give the truck space. It passed before the people slowly casting a black shadow on the front entrance of the Gym. A chill ran down Misty's spine and she shivered as she saw the truck.

Tears began to well up in her eyes and the smile had disappeared from her face. Ash was focused entirely on her and was going to ask her again when a wide and muscular man with a yellow construction hat on his head stepped out of the driver's seat. His light blue jumpsuit was stained with sweat and he wiped his rugged and wrinkled forehead with a massive and hairy arm. He looked over at the smaller red pickup trucks that stopped behind his as various men dressed in the same blue jumpsuit walked out of the cars.

"Start unloading this truck! We need to be out of here in ten minutes to be able to make it in Vermillion City by 6 o' clock!" he barked back at him. He walked closer towards Misty and said in a rough voice,

"Are you Miss…" he glanced at the clipboard in his hand, "Misty Waterflower?" She nodded slowly without uttering a word. "Good; I need you to sign this contract of liability before we can begin any type of demolition."

Ash's eyes widened in shock as Misty signed the paper that would knock the Gym and her house down. She dropped the pen to the floor after she finished signing and she clenched her shaking hand tightly with a sigh. The man picked up the pen with a grunt and he addressed his workers,

"OK, let's do this! Open up those crates and let's get started!" One by one, they opened up the crates loaded on the back of the truck. Each of them held an Electrode and they rolled out of the opened box as they were guided by a demolition man to a predetermined spot on the plan. A few of them entered the Gym as the rest of the Electrode surrounded the outer wall, waiting for the boss's command.

He glanced at his workers who had all returned from moving the Electrodes around. The green truck was completely empty, the crowd was completely silent, and the sun had already made its way halfway down the horizon. He looked over at Misty and he spoke,

"Are you ready?" She nodded as tears began to roll down her eyes and her lip quivered. Her sisters were standing quietly to the side of them as they held hands tightly waiting for the ordeal to be over with. Ash moved closer to Misty as the man yelled,

"OK THEN! ON THE COUNT OF FIVE! 5…4…3…2…" Misty latched onto Ash's chest as she closed her eyes. Everything had gone completely silent as she blocked everything out with the exception of her own heartbeat that pumped loudly in her chest.

The man bellowed "ONE!" and at that exact moment all the Electrodes glowed in bright light. They prepared to simultaneously use Explosion as they had practiced countless times before. Misty clung onto Ash closely as her heartbeat began to beat deafeningly fast in her body until the deafening explosion that shattered her mental soundproof barrier and her heartbeat sounded.

The Gym imploded into rubble from the explosions and the dust blew into sky. Her sisters huddled together as they cried silently and Ash stood in disbelief as he saw the Gym fall to pieces right before his eyes. He wrapped his arm around Misty and began to comfort her as she couldn't bring herself to look at what remained of the Gym.

The blue letters that used to be displayed at the top of the Gym proudly were now scattered in pieces amongst the rubble, with the only visible letter being the 'U' in the name 'CERULEAN.' The crowd began to scatter slowly after the dust had settled and soon the officers began to shoo away any stragglers so they could leave the group alone. The truck drivers picked up the fainted Electrodes, packed them back in their crates, and drove off to Vermillion City without another mention to the women.

Misty was still in Ash's arms and slowly a tear slid off her cheek and fell onto her Mystic Water necklace. The jewel glowed brilliantly as the tear slid down slowly against the side. It dripped off the end of the jewel and fell to the floor with a loud splatter, twice the size it was when it fell off Misty's eye…

They were in a wooden cottage by the outskirts of Cerulean City above the city on a hill after leaving the site that used to be home to the magnificent Cerulean City Gym and the Sensational Sisters. They had all gathered downstairs in their new home as Misty explained to Ash what had just happened:

_During the first night that Misty had spent in Ash's house, she had come up with the idea to put the Gym on sale. Tired of solely being with left with the responsibilities of a Gym leader while her sisters traveled around, she persistently tried to convince her sisters until they finally gave in._

A short boy in his early teens with blue-green hair in a bowl cut style who had eyes that matched with his hair had approached Misty's sisters the very next day with an interest in the Gym. He offered to take over as the Gym leader, but he wanted to build his own Gym, not the buy the one that they had made. He agreed that he would pay for everything; all they needed to do was agree to sign the contract.

Misty's sisters were hesitant, but they knew they had no real say over it as Misty was the true Gym leader of the city. She agreed with the deal in reluctance, knowing that he was probably the only person that would buy the Gym on such short notice even though it was at the cost of its demolition.

After the deal was settled, the media had gained coverage on it and soon it was all over the news in Cerulean. She sold the Gym and used the money to move everything out of the Gym and bought a new house on a hill by the vigilant river that overlooked the city.

After their dinner meeting, Misty was upstairs in her room crying silently as she held the remaining letter from the rubble in her hand. She was going to keep it as a reminder of the old Gym now that construction of the new one was going to begin. Ash knocked quietly on the door and she wiped away the tears.

"Come in…" He opened the door and entered the room slowly as Pikachu closed the door behind him. Misty was sitting on her new bed in her new room that had a window that faced the new location the new house was situated in. It was completely dark outside with the exception of the moon that shone brightly through the window with the lights of the city shining back at it. He smiled at her gently,

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine I guess…" Her voice was quiet and her expression was enough of an answer for him. He took a seat next to her as she continued to look at the concrete letter in her hand. He took off his backpack and began to rummage through it as Misty was lost in thought. He pulled out a shiny black box and stole her attention as he opened it carefully.

"I'm sorry Misty, especially because I can't really say much since I've never been in a situation like this before…" He slowly looked at her with a gentle look in his eyes that melted through her icy cold depression.

"But I want you to have this…" He unclenched his hand to reveal the Cascade badge that she had given to him many years ago. Her eyes widened in shock,

"Ash… I can't take this… It's yours…" He shook his head.

"I want you to have it Misty. I want you to have it so you can remember the Gym and the memories that we had in there together." He smiled as he placed the badge in her hand. She looked at it as it shone in under the lamp light without saying anything. A strange feeling went through her stomach though, making it feel as if it were doing flips and a tear slid down her cheek as she smiled. He smiled back at her and exited the silent room to give her some time alone.

He closed the door behind him as Pikachu exited beside him, leaving Misty in silence as she sat on the bed. She turned off the light and sighed happily as she clenched the badge close to her chest. What he didn't know (and she didn't plan on telling him either) was that everything she did was for him.

She placed the badge by her alarm clock and began to drift off into a dream in which she revisited the Gym for one last time…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8-Over the Threshold**

The sunrise was lazy in the morning and began to scatter its light over Cerulean City. Misty was lying in her bed staring up at the ceiling in silence as the golden light entered through her window. She sighed and stretched as she looked at the digital clock on her bedside table with bags under her eyes.

In the dream that she had last night she was swimming in the pool of the Gym when the earth began to shake violently. The waters of the pool threw her side to side as she screamed out loud until the roof of the Gym collapsed on top of her and she woke up with a fright. After that nightmare she wasn't able to fall asleep again since 2 o'clock in the morning.

She threw the warm blankets off of her and felt the cold air of the room hit her bare legs. She shivered and put on a pair of dark red sweatpants quickly. She walked out of her bedroom with a pair of furry light blue slippers on her feet and she went down the cold hardwood stairs to the kitchen. Everyone else was sleeping in their rooms so the house was completely quiet and empty. She sat on the couch that was originally in the Gym's living room as she gazed at the unlit fireplace sitting in the middle.

The house looked very colonial and old with everything completely made out of wood. They were only going to rent this cabin though and buy a much nicer house in a year or so as they needed someplace to stay so they could get reorganized. But by then it would be Misty's sisters' problem as she would be in a far off region with Ash… She smiled at the thought and lay down on the couch. Slowly she closed her heavy eyes and fell asleep…

She awoke as soon as the light hit her squarely in the face from the window. She was still drowsy as she looked around at her sisters preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"Finally! It's about time you got up," Daisy said as she turned around. Misty looked back at her with droopy eyes and she slowly yawned out loud as she stretched her arms.

"What time is it?" she said with her hand in front of her mouth to cover yet another yawn.

"It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon," Daisy said as she looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

"WHAT?" Misty screamed out loud. She jumped off the couch and sprinted up the stairs to go to the guest room in which Ash was sleeping in. She opened up the door abruptly and the room was completely empty, with the blanket on the bed neatly made and the blinds drawn. She stared on in horror then she slammed her head against the wall.

"After everything I did, he left without me…" she said as she felt her eyes sting.

"Who left you?" She turned around suddenly and jumped back in shock as he stood standing directly in front of her with just a towel on and a curious look on his face.

"Ash? What are you doing here?" Misty said grabbing her heart with her hand as it throbbed in her chest from the shock.

"Well I just finished taking a shower after I saw that you were asleep on the couch. You didn't think I was gonna leave without you, did you?" he said with a smile. She lowered her head in embarrassment as her cheeks turned red.

"Um… breakfast is almost done so come downstairs once you're ready," she said as she walked past him and down the stairs.

They had just finished eating breakfast and Ash was now outside waiting for Misty as she got ready to leave. Pikachu had been playing with the other pokemon from the Gym outside in the backyard and he had now rejoined Ash. They stood in front of the house while looking up at the clear blue sky as the cold wind chilled them.

Misty opened the door and walked outside and Ash turned around to look at her. She had a white hoodie on with her hands tucked in the pouch as she shivered from the cold. She had on tight dark blue shorts that reached the middle of her thigh with her red and white sneakers on her feet. Her hair was worn up in its usual ponytail and as always, the necklace hung from her neck, sparkling in the light of the brilliant sun.

Ash was dressed in a blue denim vest similar to the jacket that he had when he traveled to Kanto, but this vest was reversible with the inside color being white, contrasting the dark blue t-shirt he wore underneath it. He had on tight black gloves that had openings for each one of his fingers and blue pants that reached his black and white shoes.

He smirked back at her, his red and white cap casting a shadow over his dark brown eyes. She smiled back at him then sighed. They had already said goodbye to her sisters so now all that was left for them was to get to Johto and board the Magnet Train to begin their long winding journey…

Several weeks had passed after traveling through Johto until they reached their destination of Goldenrod City. The train they had to get on was leaving in 2 minutes as they entered the city and the next one wouldn't come until six hours later. They ran across town and into the train station as they screamed at the attendant to hold the door for them, waving the gold-rimmed tickets in the air. The mustachioed middle aged man waited for them as they burst through the door and hunched over to catch their breath.

"ALL ABOARD!" he screamed back at the captain of the train and the automatic doors closed.

"May I see your tickets please?" the man said with a smile accented by the tiny mustache curled up underneath his nose.

"Sure," Ash said breathing hard as he handed him the tickets. The man took them and, with a hole-puncher, punched two holes into each ticket.

"Here you go; please have a seat in the main cabin. The train will begin to move as soon as we have checked every passenger aboard the train." He slid a door open for them that lead to one of the main cars of the Magnet Train. The lights of the train shone with a bright white on the silver colored leather seats of the train. They picked an empty three-seater and Misty took the side closest to the aisle while Ash took the window side as Pikachu sat in Misty's lap.

She lied heavily on the comfortable seat and was anxious for the train to start moving. Ash was staring out of the window and was beginning to daze off when yells could be heard from the next car. Everyone in the car peered out of their seats curiously at the scene happening.

A man with burgundy colored hair was in hysterics as the attendants didn't accept his tickets and attempted to kick him off of the train. Apparently his tickets were fakes and they had found him out, but he was unwilling to admit so and claimed that they were 100 percent real. They attempted to calm him down, but once they saw that he was not cooperating, the attendants surrounded the man, grabbed him by the arms and threw him out of the train. He pounded on the doors and windows screaming obscenities, but he was soon carried off by security. Ash and Misty looked on bewildered as he tried to free himself from their grasp, kicking and screaming, but to no avail as they exited the station.

"Some people must really want to go on this trip," Ash said looking back at the screaming man amazed. Misty smiled back and closed her eyes so he returned to looking out of the window and thought of what possible adventures he could have in Muntein. The loud speaker came on as it interrupted his daydream,

"We have now checked all passengers on board and will now begin to move. All the attendants must find their seat as well as the passengers before we start to move…" A few minutes later, the captain was given the 'all clear' and the train began to move, slowly speeding up.

The scenery began to go out of focus as the train sped up until it reached unbelievable speeds and the outside world blurred past them. He looked at Misty to see if she was observing the scenery but she was sleeping peacefully leaning over the side of the chair. He smiled and he pulled her back in, but he had pulled her too hard and her head fell onto his shoulder.

She adjusted herself on his shoulder and then wrapped her arm around his. Ash tried to free himself from her grasp by shaking his arm, but she held on tightly with a faint smile as she slept. He gave up and looked out at Pikachu as he also rested on his lap. Ash rolled his eyes at the two; there was no way he could sleep with how excited he was.

Two hours had now passed on the train and Ash was becoming restless. Misty was now awake and she was staring down the aisle with a bored expression. According to the captain they were about to reach Muntein, but Ash was skeptical as he looked outside. It was now noon yet the sun could be barely seen shining from the gaps between the trees they had been passing the last half hour.

Suddenly, the trees disappeared and they began to pass in front of a desert-like region. The ground was bare and the heat could be seen bouncing off of the ground as they passed through the barren wasteland. Just then the loud speaker was turned on,

"Right now we are currently passing the other half of Turbane, the region that neighbors Muntein." Ash looked outside in wonder and amazement as they rocketed across the land. Gradually Ash could feel the train slowing down as he felt his stomach being pushed back. He grabbed it in nausea and then he looked at Misty. She obviously could feel it too as she began to turn her head in a panic. An announcement was made yet again,

"Right now we are currently preparing to enter the tunnel that passes into Muntein. We will have to slow down as we are actually traveling _underwater_. We will be arriving in at least ten minutes…" The speaker turned off and Ash's heart began to pound in excitement. The train jerked forward and he grabbed onto the seat in front of him in shock. Pikachu flew face first into the next chair and stood up with a groan.

The lights had all gone out and everyone began to mutter. From the window, Ash could see they had now reached the coast of this wasteland of a region and the car that they were in began to enter the tunnel. The walls were clear and the passengers from the train could see into the depths of the ocean.

The waves of the current beat ferociously against the walls, but they did not give way as the train continued to descend into the tunnel until it was completely submerged. The car was cast with the dark blue colors of the sea and the three of them looked on in wonderment.

They were far underneath the surface and the underwater world outside them was eerily similar to the desolate one on the surface. It was calm and abandoned with gigantic rocks that lay scattered throughout the dark blue sea. There was no life at all because the fast currents of the sea made it impossible to live in. The train was now traveling in a straight line at a slow pace, allowing everyone on the train to explore the sea visually.

Ash looked on with his face pressed to the window in amazement then he turned back to look at Misty. She was looking out the window as well when their eyes met. They smiled at each other then continued to admire the outside view. Ash was about to look away when something caught the corner of his eye. Off in the far distance he could see something moving. He focused his vision and could vaguely make them out to be brightly colored dots that floated about aimlessly.

He took out his Pokedex to check if it was a pokemon, but before he could, everything went completely dark. Everyone screamed and Ash began to look all around him in panic when he felt Misty grab his arm. The lights suddenly turned back on and Ash looked at Misty as she looked back at him.

She let go and turned away as she blushed in embarrassment. Ash looked at her with a confused expression, but he turned away and looked outside the window, frustrated that the sea had now disappeared from their sight and he missed the pokemon. The train was still moving underwater as he could see tiny bubbles from the water, but it also seemed that they were underneath the ground as they traveled through stone. The loudspeaker clicked on again,

"We are passing through the massive rocks that surround this island like a barrier; in a moment we will be surfacing again so I would like to take this time to thank you all for riding on the Magnet train and to please remain seated until we come to a full stop." The front of the train began to ascend and soon enough their car began to move up as well as they passed the dark tunnel and entered the dark sea once again. The train was picking up speed until they had finally surfaced again.

Bright light flooded the inside of the train as the remaining cars left the water. Ash looked outside to catch his first glimpse of Muntein. The land before him was filled with trees, but as they traveled along the coast he only see the trunks of these trees. The train continued to ascend at a rapid pace until they passed above the trees on a bridge. He caught a glance of this new world.

It was completely covered by lush green trees with a great mountain that loomed over the land to the northeast and everything seemed so alive. He opened his mouth in amazement as the train began to straighten out and prepared to slow down once again. Misty tapped her foot as her heart beat thumped in her chest. She didn't know why she was so nervous, she had traveled with him to new regions all the time and she had never felt a reaction like this. Maybe because this time it was going to be just her and Ash; her heart skipped a beat as the thought crossed her mind.

The train was approaching a platinum building that was supported by steel beams to keep it from touching the water. Upon entering the station, the train came to a screeching halt. Ash's hands shook with excitement as he could barely contain himself anymore. He stood up as soon as the doors opened and Misty followed suit. They gathered their backpacks and exited the train.

The floor below the docking station for the train was the main terminal in which various other trains were available for traveling to different parts of the Muntein region. The room was brand new, shiny and clean, almost futuristic-like as Ash and Misty walked down the stairs and looked around bewildered. They had no idea where to start or even go. Misty spotted an information center in the distance.

"I bet we could find where to go if we looked over there," she said as she pointed to the booth. He nodded and they began to walk towards the info booth. It was a plain white counter in the shape of a circle with a silver sign that ran through the middle of the big circle. Black letters that ran across it, labeling one side: "Trainer's Info" and the other side: "Tourist's Info." Misty smiled in joy at the tourist booth and she turned to Ash.

"While you go check out the Trainer's booth I'm going to go look something up…" she said as she began to walk away from him and he looked back at her wondering what she was going to check out.

"Don't forget to get a map!" she yelled back at him. Ash frowned at her comment.

"_Like I would be that stupid to forget a map…_" he thought. Ash and Pikachu walked up to the receptionist after she had just finished attending to a group of trainers. She had light brown hair that was hidden underneath a blue and white cap and her ponytails stuck out to the side. She was young and pretty and had light blue eyes; if Brock was here, he would be all over her.

"How may I help you today, sir?" she said smiling. Ash clenched his fist as he said,

"I'm a pokemon trainer and I want to enter the league! But first I need to know where the Gyms are." She reached behind the counter and pulled out a small pamphlet.

"This is an official Muntein League pamphlet that will explain all the rules and requirements of this league. It's very similar to the other leagues outside of this island, but there is one small change: there are 12 Gyms that you need to go to before you are allowed to participate in the league. In this pamphlet, you will also find a very detailed map that has the location of every single Gym in each corresponding region."

She flipped to the middle of the pamphlet and unfolded the map. In each region there were three Gyms whose types were in some way related to the region around it. The map was almost identical to the one that Ash had seen in Professor Oak's lab and he spotted out the train station they were in; they were currently in the waters between the Evergreen region and the Mineral region.

"Which Gym is closest from where we are?" Ash asked.

"There is the Gym that's in Conifer Town," said the woman as she pointed out where the town was on the map. It lied a little bit to the north from the train station.

"It's in the middle of the forest, but there's a path that will lead you there once you exit from here. You should have no problem finding it as long as you exit through the side entrance," she said pointing to a door that was at her left side.

"Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you very much!" he said with a sincere smile.

"I wish you the best of luck on your journey," she said as she smiled back at Ash.

He was circling the booth and was about to start looking for Misty when he bumped into her. He eyed her suspiciously,

"What were you doing at the Tourist booth?" She avoided his gaze and said,

"_Nothing…_" as she hid something behind her back.

"What are you hiding behind you?" he said looking at her hands that were held behind her back. He reached forward to see, but she stepped back. He then lunged at her with both hands, but she side stepped out of the way and he fell face forward. He stood up and reached forward with his left hand so she turned to the right. With his other hand, he grabbed what she was hiding. He held it in his hands and it read: "Tourist Attractions."

"Give me that!" she yelled at him as she snatched the pamphlet out of his hand.

"Don't tell me that you want to see stupid tourist attractions! They're a waste of time and money! Besides, I have to get started on my pokemon journey and I can't waste any valuable time-"

"Hold it right there Ash Ketchum!" Misty said clearly annoyed at his attitude. "I came thousands of miles away from my home just so I could come here with you! There is no way I traveled that far just so I can watch from the sidelines as you battle against other trainers. Besides you have plenty of time to collect badges, don't you?"

"Well yeah…" He knew the league was going to start in a year according to the pamphlet.

"So loosen up and enjoy this island! Everything in life isn't always about pokemon; which is the whole reason we're going to these attractions whether you like it or not!" she said waving the pamphlet around in her hand. He backed away.

"Alright Misty you win… But first, we're going to the Gym!"

"Fine. But right after that, we are going to start looking for the nearest tourist attractions!" she said, putting her foot down.

"Alright…"

"Good; now where are we going first?" she said. He pulled out the map from his backpack and showed it to her.

"The lady in the booth told me that the quickest way to get there is through this exit," he said as he pointed to one of the entrances to the side. "After that, all we have to do is follow the path and we'd get there no problem."

"Alright so then give me the map," she said outstretching her hand.

"What?" He clutched the map in his hand.

"Ash if you're the one that's going to read the map, you'll get us lost!" she said a bit annoyed at him. "So give me the map!"

"No way! I can read the map just fine and I won't get us lost. Besides if you had the map, you'd probably burn a hole right through it just by looking at it," He stuck his tongue at her then turned and sprinted for the exit with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Ash Ketchum you get back here!" She ran after him waving her fist in the air as he exited through the door. Their first step onto the new world was at breakneck speed, never stopping to look behind them as their eyes were fixed on what lay ahead of them. 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Alright this is it, the beginning of their new journey! Please keep in mind I wrote most of these chapters years ago so it might not be as fleshed out as the newer chapters that are to come. Please leave a review if you read and enjoy!

**Chapter 9-Soaring High**

Hours had passed since they last left the train station yet they were still wandering inside the never-ending forest. The sun was starting to reach its apex as Ash led the group through the dark forest. He looked closely at the map, trying his best make out the confusing directions. He was sure that they were on the trail so he continued with confidence as Pikachu rested on his shoulder and Misty trailed behind.

"Ash, just admit that we're lost already and give me the map!"

"We're not lost! It's just…taking longer than I expected. If you would move a little faster than maybe we would be there by now!" he said looking back at her.

"Well after walking for three hours straight, I'm sorry if I can't walk any faster! Where's the nearest Pokemon Center anyway, my feet are _killing_me…"

"Well according to this map there should be one right…here!" As he said this he pushed aside a bush and right in front of them, was a Pokemon Center. Misty's mouth dropped, even Ash was a bit shocked too, but he kept his composure.

"See, what did I tell you? I can read these maps with no problem!" he said as he strutted towards the Center hidden amongst the trees. She stood still in disbelief then shook her head and followed right behind him.

They entered the red and white Pokemon Center through the automatic sliding doors. The center was empty with the exception of Nurse Joy standing behind the counter. Her attention was drawn to them as they approached. Misty sighed in relief as she rested on one of the couches in the lobby and Ash walked up to Nurse Joy as Pikachu took the time to stretch.

"Hi Nurse Joy I'd like to…wait a second, how do _you _look like all the other Nurse Joys? I thought this island was isolated for centuries!" She smiled back at him,

"One of my ancestors actually came along on the expeditions into Muntein." He sighed in disbelief,

"You guys should at least give others a try at being nurses…" He then looked over at Misty. She was distracted as she stood around observing the center so he leaned over the counter and whispered so she would not hear.

"Do you know where the nearest Gym is?" Misty crept up right beside him with a sly smirk.

"Oh I thought you knew how to read directions with _no_problem, Mr. Map Master?"

"Well it doesn't hurt just to make sure, does it?" he said. He then turned to Nurse Joy. "So what's the quickest way to get to Conifer Town from here?" Nurse Joy's eyes widened in surprise and she said,

"You would probably have to take the train by now to get there in one day." Ash stepped back in shock and Misty raised her eyebrows, very interested to hear what she had to say.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.

"Well you're not in the Evergreen region." Ash was stunned and Misty was looking smug, eager to rub it in Ash's face now.

"You're actually in the Minera region now. You can tell by the different colors of the trees: the ones in Evergreen are obviously green and the ones in Minera are orange." She drew their attention to a tree that could be seen outside the window. Its leaves were an assortment of colors from red to brown, but were mostly dyed orange. Misty looked at Ash with a sideways grin.

"So Ash, I see that not only you didn't find the Gym, _but_you also landed us in a completely different region. I'd have to say that's a new record for you!" He turned around looking very aggravated.

"If you're the expert all of a sudden then how come you never noticed that the trees were different in color?"

"Maybe it's because I was too tired from walking in circles! And why are you getting mad at me for? You're the one that's dumb enough that you can't follow directions as simple as staying on a dirt road!" She huffed at him and they both positioned themselves for a fight until Nurse Joy leaned over the counter and separated them.

"Settle down you two, I don't want you to wind up in a real hospital!" They scowled at each other but they straightened themselves and looked away.

"So do you know where the nearest Gym is Nurse Joy, now that _somebody_ couldn't find the right Gym in the first place," Misty said, glancing at Ash from the side of her eye. He threw her a dirty look as Nurse Joy responded,

"I could show you if you gave me a map…" Ash pulled out the map from his backpack and handed it to her.

"Let's see… If you simply go up this road after about an hour of walking you should reach the end of this forest. Once you do that, you'll be in a plain rock field with a big mountain in front of you; that is known as Mt. Minera. You need to go up that mountain about halfway to be able to reach Avia Town. I'm sorry if I can't make it any simpler than that," she added with a bow.

"As long as I'm the one leading, we shouldn't have any problem getting there," Misty said as she grabbed the map. She passed Ash who objected and looked ready to fight again as he stomped his feet through the exit.

They were out in the autumnal forest after leaving the Pokemon Center as Misty, who had the map in her hand, followed Nurse Joy's directions to the word. Ash lagged behind her with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"I think it's time you gave the map back Misty, we've been walking for a while now," Ash whined.

"So we can end up in another region? No thanks; besides I think I see the end of this forest up ahead…" she said, squinting her eyes to get a better look at the end of the road. A bright light shone from far away, signaling the end of the gigantic forest and Misty began to sprint with excitement towards the light as Ash and Pikachu followed. They passed into the opening and looked in awe around them at the colossal field in front of them.

The tan rock field before them was lightly covered with grass with bumpy rocks protruding throughout the field and small hills that rolled all through the land. Directly in front of them was an enormous mountain that towered before them, shrouding the land in a black shadow. The sun hid behind the peak of the mountain, giving it a golden halo and they stood in awe as their eyes traveled down the wide slopes of Mt. Minera.

"Come on Misty, we have to get there before it gets too dark," he yelled back at her as he began to run up the undulating hills. She followed after him, screaming back at him to wait as he neared closer to the mountain.

The sun had now begun its descent as they treaded up the steep mountain path. Misty was leading the group again with map in hand as Ash stayed close behind her. Pikachu was camped on Ash's shoulder, observing the barren mountain side as they climbed up the slope. Misty stopped in front of a big cliff that stood in front of their path. Ash caught up to her and asked,

"What's the matter, Misty?" She turned back to look at him after she took a final glance at the map.

"Well according to this map, we have to climb wall to be able to reach the town…" she said. Then she looked at him with a determined smile.

"Are you ready for this Ash?" He flashed a wide smile at her and clenched his hand,

"You know I was born ready!" Pikachu yelled in excitement and they all stared up at the bluff. They began to climb up the long cliff with no equipment or safety gear relying only on their bare hands and raw tenacity.

The sun was already setting by the time that they reached the end of the cliff, tinting the sky with an assortment of purple, orange, and blue. Misty was resting on a tiny plateau that stuck out of the cliff as she waited for Ash who had lost his footing a while ago, but was catching up now. She laid back on the plateau as she looked up at the sky, enjoying the beautiful view. She could see over miles of land as she looked beyond the forest and she saw for her own eyes the colored division of the islands Evergreen and Minera.

Without notice a thick black fog began to gather around Misty taking away her sight of the land. She stood up and looked around in confusion as the black fog fell upon her. She crawled towards the edge of the cliff, making sure she wouldn't fall over as she felt around with her hand.

"Ash! Hurry, give me your hand!" she yelled with her hand outstretched as she leaned over the cliff.

He looked up and saw the fog eat up Misty and fall further past her. He started to panic and climbed faster, reaching for the hand that stuck out from the fog. He was almost there when a strong wind blew from the side. He held onto his hat as he tried to fight off the wind, grabbing onto the cliff as tight as he could. The wind picked up speed and his hand slipped off the rock. He screamed out loud and Misty heard him from the darkness of the fog.

"Ash!" She screamed as she saw the outline of his body fall away from her until she no longer saw anything. She looked away and trembled, fearing the worst. The air in front of her rushed down and she felt something dive past her. She peered over the cliff still in the veil of the fog.

She could make out the outline of a moderately sized bird descending towards where Ash had fallen into, but she wasn't sure what it was. It was definitely not something she had ever seen before. The bird had disappeared from sight yet she waited patiently by the edge of the cliff having gained a sliver of hope.

The seconds passed at an agonizing crawl and Misty was holding her breath. She was going to lean forward when a heavy thud next to her startled her and nearly threw her off the cliff. Once she regained her balance she looked back at what was now next to her. The tall black shape of a person dressed in a hooded cloak loomed over the cliff's edge beside her. Then Misty heard the faint sound of flapping wings coming from below and she rushed to look over the edge again.

The outline of the bird held what appeared to be the body of a young man and a plump rodent in its talons. The bird dropped the bodies onto the cliff and Misty kneeled down before him, sighing with great relief as she recognized the man and his Pikachu.

"Covvul, use Gust," the black figure said in a rough voice. The bird pokemon perched on his shoulder and squawked out loud as it began to flap its wings, scattering the fog. Misty's eyes widened once she took a look at the pokemon before her as the fog cleared out. It was a bald headed pokemon with the exception of a black Mohawk running down his head to his beak. Its black feathers reflected no sunlight and its breast was a pale white. Its face was serious matching the fierce gaze of its red pupil eyes. She then looked over at the mysterious person hidden underneath the cloak.

The person drew back their hood, revealing their wizened face. He was a muscular man whose gut protruded in his sleeved maroon shirt. The hair on the top of his head had mostly fallen out except for a small tuft in the front. His face was in a permanent scowl, accented by his thin goatee that lined his lip and cut down sharply to the bottom of his chin.

Misty and the man locked eyes and he said nothing as they stared at each other. Ash began to stir and the man broke his gaze and turned to him. Ash opened his eyes and began to look all around him; first at Pikachu who was standing right next to his face, then at Misty who was kneeled beside him and finally at the man and the hunched bird on his shoulder.

Ash took out his Pokedex without a moment's hesitation. It beeped as it recognized the pokemon and displayed his picture on its screen. It spoke in a mechanized voice:

"Covvul, the Brooding Pokemon. 3' 5" Dark/Flying: This pokemon's head is always hunched down, giving it the impression that it is deep in thought. These pokemon can shake off particles of black dust from their feathers to disguise itself as it hunts for food. There have been many accounts of people being saved by this pokemon who often mistakes their cries for help as wounded prey."

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked once the Pokedex closed.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he said as he lifted himself off the ground. He brushed the dust from his shirt and extended his hand towards the large man.

"If it wasn't for your pokemon, I probably wouldn't be in one piece by now. Thanks a lot!" The man looked at his hand and turned his back on him.

"What business do you kids have climbing this mountain without a guide?" He didn't bother to look at them as he spoke. Ash retracted his hand and frowned at his cold attitude.

"Well we were in a rush to get to Avia Town to visit the Gym…" Misty pushed him out of the way as she stepped forward.

"What's the matter with you? He's giving you thanks for saving his life the least you can do is return it! You have some nerve!" The man looked at her through the corner of his eye then turned away and said nothing. Misty burned from anger and she was about to get in his ear again when a hand on her shoulder held her back. Ash shook his head and let go of her shoulder.

"Come on Misty let's go." They looked at him one last time and turned to leave when the man spoke.

"If you want to get to Avia Town, I can get you there if you follow me. We'll have to camp out though as it's getting late to travel safely." Ash looked up, now that the fog had cleared he could see the sky was beginning to blacken. The man walked away and jumped up onto a nearby plateau. With no other choice, Ash unloaded his backpack and started to prepare for the night. Misty turned her back to the man and whispered to Ash.

"Do you really trust this guy? He appeared out of nowhere and he's kind of a jerk." She glanced back at the unnamed man who pulled off his cloak and laid it on the floor as a blanket. Covvul jumped off his master's shoulder and perched on a nearby branch that hung off the side of the cliff above them.

"Maybe he just wants to make sure that we're okay, though I do agree with you about the jerk part." Ash said as he spread his blue sleeping bag out.

"For now it won't hurt if we tag along, as long as he leads us to Avia Town." He took off his hat and jacket and climbed into the bag with Pikachu taking up a spot right next to him. Misty was still skeptical though as she looked back at the man who lay completely silent on his side with his back turned to them. He reassured her that they would be fine and pulled the covers over his head. She sighed and gave up trying to convince him, pulling out her sleeping bag from her red backpack. She spread it out right next to Ash's, making sure she faced the man because she still didn't quite trust him.

"Goodnight Misty…" Ash muttered as he turned in his sleeping bag.

"Goodnight Ash," she said. The vulture pokemon hung his head against his white breast and dozed off and the night fell quiet.

The sunrise early in the morning was accompanied to the sound of Covvul's loud call. The rays of the sun shone over the vast forest in front of them. Ash yawned and stretched as sat up in his sleeping bag. Pikachu stirred and woke up and Ash petted his friend's head as he looked towards Misty. She was still sleeping, her hands supporting her chin with her head in the direction of where the man was sleeping. But where he was last night, there was nothing there. Ash stood up and walked around, searching for the man until found him standing around the corner. He was basking in the rays from the horizon with his massive hands in the pockets of his black jeans yet his gaze was unfocused. Ash turned around, keeping quiet so he wouldn't disturb the pensive man. He went to Misty's side and he nudged her.

"Misty wake up…" She slowly opened her emerald eyes and looked up at his smiling face. She smiled back at him with bags under her eyes. She couldn't sleep, it was hopeless for her to try to shake off the unease she felt from the man's presence. So she stayed up for the majority of the night keeping an eye open until her exhaustion got the better of her. She got out of her sleeping bag as well and she rolled it up, yawning as she struggled to keep her eyelids open. The man walked back from the corner and Covvul swooped off the branch to land on his shoulder.

"Are you ready to leave yet?" he said with his usual scowl. They nodded and he turned around and walked up the mountain trail. They followed closely behind the stranger as a gentle wind blew from the east.

They hiked up and down the winding trails, some of which split into other paths. The man led them without hesitation and after a few hours, they reached a small hill with a road sign that read: "This way to Avia Town." Ash, Misty, and Pikachu smiled at each other and ran past the man and up the hill. Ash was out of breath by the time they reached the top. He smiled as he looked at the small town before them.

The town was surrounded by small cliffs like a miniature canyon. Little children walked up paths on the face of the cliffs carrying large neon colored hang gliders. The houses were shaped like giant huts with red roofs and brown walls. They lay throughout the town side by side leaving areas open for the gliders. Gliders swayed from side to side as they soared above the town. Off in the distance in a small park, a multitude of kites could be seen floating around and close by, a group of people were building a small wooden airplane. Ash looked for a building that could be the Gym, but he couldn't find it and he turned to the man who had just joined them. As Ash opened his mouth, the man said,

"If you're looking for the Gym, it's not in town. You'll have to pass through it and go up a specific path that will lead you to it. Come, follow me…" He walked forwards with his loyal pokemon on his shoulder as he led the way.

As they walked across town, people began to follow them with wide smiles as they cheered and clapped, with more people gathering by the second. Ash looked back at them with a wide grin and waved back at them, soaking up the cheers. He was convinced they were cheering for him so he began to greet everyone with waves and bowed. Everyone stopped immediately and looked at Ash with puzzled looks. A young girl from the crowd asked out loud,

"Who _are_ you?" Ash dropped to the ground as Misty snickered at his stupidity.

"Ash I think they're cheering for our Mystery Man right there…" she said, nodding towards to the man as Ash picked himself off the ground.

"Yeah I think I noticed…" he said in low spirits. A teenage boy said in great shock,

"You mean you don't know who he is?" They both looked at him with vacant expressions, the cloaked man stopped walking.

"Why, should we?" Misty asked.

"Of course! This is Alexander-" The boy from the crowd proclaimed in a deep voice, "Alexander the Great! Defender of Man!" Everyone smiled and nodded and Ash and Misty were even more confused.

"Wow, you guys must be not be from around here… You see this man -" He extended his hand towards Alexander who still had his back turned. "-has saved hundreds of people from impending doom in the mountains! He is this town's hero which is why we admire him." Alexander turned around suddenly and glared at the teenager. The teenager jumped back from the look and sunk into the crowd with his head hung low.

"Let's not waste anymore time here and it gets too late. I hear the Gym Leader hates unannounced…" he looked back at the teenage boy again, "-visitors…" He turned around and began to walk again. Ash and Misty continued on as the group scattered apart, some muttering their displeasure at the cold man as the teenage boy sniffled and sulked away.

Just outside the town, Alexander came to a stop once more and Ash, Misty, and Pikachu looked at what lay before them. The platform they were standing was connected to a zip line that ran across a steep drop and connected to a building off in the distance. The building itself sat on a rock pillar that was isolated to everything around it. The ground below them was full of jagged rocks sticking out from the ground with the exception of a black safety net that extended over it. Alexander turned to them and he said,

"This is the Avia Town Gym. The only way to reach it is by going across this zip line while holding only onto these handlebars." He grabbed a pair of handlebars out of a box that lay next to the line and placed it onto the zip line. "If you're up to the challenge then follow me." Covvul flew off of his shoulder and flew to the top of the Gym as Alexander jumped off the cliff and sped across the high gap on the zip line. He landed safely in front of the Gym and entered through the big blue double doors of the tall white building. Ash turned to Pikachu standing by his legs and offered his hand.

"Alright buddy, let's go win our first badge!" he said as Pikachu climbed up into his vest, sitting snug in the tight denim material. He grabbed a pair of handlebars and set it on the zip line. Misty was nervous as she looked at the large drop then at Ash who reared himself to jump.

"Ash, don't you think this is a little _dangerous_? What if you don't make it across?" He jumped off anyway and cut down the line, yelling in joy as the adrenaline rushed through his body. She looked at him in disbelief until he landed on the ground safely.

"Come on Misty! What are you _scared_?" he yelled across at her. She looked down at the gap again and quickly turned away.

"The things I do just for this boy…" She grabbed a pair of handlebars and jumped off the cliff and sped down the zip line, screaming all the way as her hands shook against the metal handlebars. The wind rushed against her face so quickly it made her head spin and she closed her eyes. She fell forward onto the ground once she reached the end and staggered on wobbling knees.

"Took you long enough!" he said with a smile. She smacked him over the head with the metal handlebars and leaving him on the ground with a huge lump sticking out of his head. She huffed and dropped the handlebars and walked to the Gym, her nerves starting to settle down. She pushed the heavy doors open and walked inside.

As soon as the door closed behind her, the tall building was immersed in faded darkness, lit by the thin horizontal slits in the wall. She looked up and around the birdcage-shaped building spotting two staircases adjacent to each other. They wound all the way up the sides, never intersecting the other. Two signs in the middle of the room pointed to each one: the left was labeled: "For the Gym Leader" and the right labeled as: "For the Challenger." She headed for the "Challenger" staircase, wondering which one Alexander had climbed up. The door opened and for a brief moment, light pierced through the darkness until Ash closed the door behind him, encasing the Gym in darkness again. He joined Misty as he sprinted up the staircase and they both walked up the staircase, side by side as their steps echoed in the chamber.

Once they reached the end of the staircase, it led to another walkway and a door at the base of the domed ceiling. Cold air rushed in from outside through the cracks of the door and Ash opened it. They stepped outside onto a grey-blue metal walkway circling halfway around the gold dome and into a set of marble white steps. Walking up the stairs with the magnificent background of the rocky fields of Mineral and the lush green forest of Evergreen behind them, the sun shone with magnificence above their heads. After finally climbing the steps, they reached the match floor. It lay on top of the dome and the wind blew harder from this height than at the bottom. Right across from them was Alexander with Covvul perched on his shoulder.

"If you haven't figured out by now, I am the Gym leader of Avia Town!" he yelled across at them as a strong wind blew. "I hope you and your pokemon are ready for a tough match because I promise you that I won't go easy!" Ash nodded and glanced at Pikachu who was willing and ready for whatever Alexander had prepared for them. Misty walked across to the side of the match floor beside the referee as he began to announce the rules,

"This will be a battle with challenger Ash battling against Gym Leader Alexander for a Soar badge! It will be a two on two-"

"Wait a second! I don't have two pokemon yet!" Ash yelled across to the referee. The referee paused for a second as he looked at Ash. He then declared,

"This match has been cancelled due to the challenger's lack of pokemon!"

"What?" Ash yelled at the referee. Misty stepped forward,

"Ash, why don't you just use one of my pokemon?" Before Ash could respond, Alexander cut in.

"According to the official rules of the league, any trainer who wishes to participate in a Gym battle must have caught at least one of the pokemon exclusive to Muntein. If you have not caught one yet, then leave immediately from this Gym and don't come back until you have caught a Muntein pokemon." He then turned his back towards them and the cloak flapped behind him as he waited for them to leave. Ash clenched his hands and gritted his teeth in anger.

"Why did we have to waste our time coming up here then? You could have just _told_us when you met us on the mountain!" Alexander said nothing more, only angering Ash even more. Misty walked up to him, hoping she could defuse his anger before he did anything rash.

"Why don't we leave now and start looking for some pokemon and then you can challenge the Gym leader again?" she said in a calm and comforting voice. He sighed and unclenched his fists, but still gritted his teeth. He turned away and they walked down the staircase once more, remaining quiet on the trip down. Ash was still boiling in anger at Alexander's attitude and Misty couldn't help but sympathize with him.

"Don't worry Ash, when you get your next pokemon, I'm sure you'll beat some sense into that jerk's head!" Ash smiled as Misty gave him a reaffirming smirk.

"You're right Misty, I'm gonna make him sorry and get my first badge!" They exited through the front doors and took another zip line that lead to a flat landing on the mountain below the town. As they traveled down the path, they began their desperate search for a new member in Ash's team, gaining him eligibility for his first Gym battle.


End file.
